[00:00:04]
[CALL TO ORDER]
2025 ME MEETING OF THE AUSTIN MUSIC COMMISSION CALL TO ORDER AT 6:41 PM I'M VICE CHAIR ANN CHARLOTTE PATTERSON, AND I'M PRESIDING TONIGHT, UH, AS CHAIR META CHARLA IS, UH, OUT OF TOWN, BUT ON REMOTE JOINING US.[MUSICAL PERFORMANCE ]
START OFF WITH MUSICAL PERFORMANCE, AND TONIGHT WE HAVE ANASTASIA HERA SPIN CIRCLE, THE GAMES YOU GO AND PLAY EVERY SINGLE TIME I PASS WAY EVERY TIME I ASK YOU, DO YOU HAVE REAL BOY FALL IN LOVE? EVERYBODY'S ON SOME ADVENTURE, NOT A CLOUD IN BRIGHT.LISTEN THROUGH WHAT'S IN WANTED FRONT AND CENTER IN THE PICTURE.
INVITED TO THE, SO NOBODY EVER GAVE YOU THE LANGUAGE.
YOU DON'T SPEAK IT, BUT YOU DO A DAMN GOOD IMITATION AND YOU LOOKING FOR LOVE, BUT CAUGHT UP IN THE SIMULATION.
I DO UNDERSTAND SYSTEM LIMITATIONS, BUT I WONDER IF YOU WAS FLESHING BLOOD AND YOU COULD BABY, COULD YOU BE HAPPY, MAYBE LIVING REAL LIFE, FEELING GOOD? MAYBE.
HAVEN'T YOU EVER WANTED TO GO FLY? WAY, WAY OUTSIDE THE BUMP, NOT YOUR PRETTY HAIR DOWN.
UH, WELL, THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL.
AND EVERY MONTH THESE, UH, THESE ARTISTS ARE CHOSEN BY A DIFFERENT MUSIC COMMISSIONER.
SO THIS MONTH, UH, THIS IS, UH, CHAIR CHARLA'S SELECTION.
UH, NAALI, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANASTASIA? THANK YOU.
UH, NOW IT'S, IT'S, UH, ANASTASIA HARRIS, UH, JUST A STAPLE HERE, UM, IN THE MUSIC SCENE.
AND, UH, SHE HAS A NEW ALBUM OUT.
[00:05:01]
YOU GET A CHANCE, PLEASE CHECK IT OUT.AND, UH, JUST, YEAH, VERY THRILLED THAT SHE COULD DO THIS.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, THAT WAS AN AWESOME PICK.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, NAALI, AND THANK YOU TO ANASTASIA OUT THERE.
UM, AND AGAIN, THESE, UH, VIDEOS ARE PRODUCED, UH, BY STAFF HERE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO I THINK WE'RE, AGAIN, A REALLY STANDOUT, UM, CITY FOR DOING THAT TYPE OF THING.
I, I DOUBT THAT IT HAPPENS MUCH IN OTHER PLACES, SO THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR THAT.
OKAY, WELL, WE WILL MOVE RIGHT ALONG
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.WE HAVE, UH, ONE SPEAKER FROM THE COMMUNITY TONIGHT.
UM, MATT FOX FROM MAKE MUSIC ALLIANCE.
WELL, UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR LETTING ME SPEAK TODAY.
UM, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, MY NAME IS MATT FOX.
I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE MAKE MUSIC ALLIANCE.
IT'S A NATIONAL NONPROFIT THAT WORKS TO HELP GROW THE CONCEPT OF WORLD MUSIC DAY HERE IN THE US.
SO WHAT THIS CONCEPT IS, IS ON JUNE 21ST, EVERY YEAR, UH, OVER 2000 CITIES ACROSS THE WORLD, TAKE PART IN THIS IDEA CALLED WORLD MUSIC DAY.
SO, SUMMER SOLSTICE, LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR IS AN INVITATION FOR COMMUNITIES TO GO OUT AND MAKE MUSIC, EVERYONE IN THEIR COMMUNITY, REGARDLESS OF THEIR LOCATION, AGE, BACKGROUND, OR EVEN MUSICAL ABILITY.
SO IMAGINE LIKE A HALLOWEEN FOR CONCERTS, PEOPLE JUST GOING OUT, PLAYING ALL OVER A PLACE, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH MUSIC, EDUCATION, PERFORMANCES, ET CETERA.
SO OUR ORG WORKS REALLY CLOSELY WITH VARIOUS CITIES TO HELP BRING THIS EVENT TO THE STATES.
AND I WORK ALONGSIDE ABOUT 175 COMMUNITIES HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE MOMENT, PRODUCING THIS EVENT.
AND WE ALSO WORK REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE TEXAS MUSIC OFFICE, SPECIFICALLY HERE IN TEXAS, AND CURRENTLY HAVE 27 CITIES IN TEXAS PRODUCING THIS EVENT IN 2025, RANGING FROM YOUR HOUSTON, DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO'S, DOWN TO YOUR MCKINNEY'S, YOUR MAHAS, YOUR MARBLE FALLS.
SO IT'S VERY SCALABLE OF IT IN THAT WAY, BUT ESSENTIALLY AUSTIN IS NOT ON THAT LIST YET.
SO I MET WITH SHELBY, UH, LAST WEEK.
WE'D BEEN IN TOUCH THROUGH, UM, VARIOUS TMO MEETINGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT THROUGH THE MUSIC FRIENDLYS PROGRAM, AND SHE SUGGESTED THAT I COME TO Y'ALL.
UH, SHE SAID THIS IS PROBABLY THE BEST STARTING POINT TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY TO BRING IT TO AUSTIN AND WAS JUST REQUESTING TO BE PUT ON THE AGENDA FOR THE APRIL MEETING TO DISCUSS THAT AT LENGTH.
YEAH, THANKS FOR, UH, THANKS FOR TAKING LET ME HAVING THE TIME.
SO YEAH, AND THIS PROCESS, WE CAN'T HAVE DIALOGUE, BUT WE'D LOVE TO HAVE YOU BACK AT A FUTURE GREAT MEETING AND WE CAN HAVE A FULL PRESENTATION THEN.
AND WE ALWAYS APPRECIATE PEOPLE COMING TO THE COMMISSION TO LET US KNOW ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, COOL MUSIC RELATED THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE A GOOD FIT FOR THIS.
SO LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING MORE.
ALL RIGHT, SO NOW WE'LL MOVE INTO
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.SO, UM, HOPEFULLY EVERYBODY'S HAD A CHANCE.
SO LOOK AT THE MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY MEETING.
DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY? OKAY.
WE HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE.
DO YOU HAVE A SECOND? FROM COMMISSIONER AGUILAR? OKAY.
[2. City of Austin Organizational Changes and Executive Management Team briefing by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music and Entertainment Division and Angela Means, Director, Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment. ]
STAFF BRIEFINGS, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES AND EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM BRIEFING BY ERIC ERICA SHAMLEY, DIVISION MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.AND ANGELA MEANS DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER.
IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU ALL TONIGHT.
UH, SO WANTED TO PRESENT, UM, SOME NEW INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, THE MUSIC, ENTERTAINMENT, UH, DIVISION, AND WONDERFUL CHANGES HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY.
SO, AS OF FEBRUARY 24TH, 2025, THE AUSTIN, THE OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT WAS FORMED BY THE AUSTIN CITY MANAGER AND, UH, OF, FOR THIS NEW OFFICE, WHICH IS AN OFFICE NOW.
AND WE ANTICIPATE IT WILL BECOME A DEPARTMENT THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS THAT ALL CULTURE, ARTS, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT ACTIVITIES AND STAFF THAT CURRENTLY HAVE BEEN AT THESE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY ARE ALL COMING TOGETHER UNDER THE HOME OF THE NEW OFFICE.
AND ANGELA MEANS IS THE NEW DIRECTOR.
AND THIS, THE GOAL OF THIS NEW OFFICE IS TO STREAMLINE THE STAFF COORDINATION, PROVIDE A MORE COHESIVE AND ACCESSIBLE EXPERIENCE FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS, AND AMPLIFY THE REACH AND EFFECTIVENESS OF JOINT INITIATIVES.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A QUITE AN ARRAY OF STAFF THAT WILL BE COMING UNDER THIS OFFICE, AND WE'RE VERY EXCITED FOR THE FUTURE TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN ALL DO TOGETHER.
[00:10:01]
IS THE NEW ACME DIRECTOR.UH, SHE IS A, AS YOU CAN TELL, I'M NOT GONNA READ THE WHOLE BIO THERE, BUT I'VE, UH, MET WITH, UH, DIRECTOR MEANS I'M VERY EXCITED TO WORK WITH HER AND TO WORK WITH, UM, ALL OF THE STAFF TO BUILD THIS OFFICE, BUILD THIS DEPARTMENT, AND COLLABORATE IN SUCH A WAY THAT, UM, NOT ONLY WILL IT BE GREAT FOR STAFF TO, YOU KNOW, WORK TOGETHER MORE EASILY, I'M REALLY EXCITED OF WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE PUBLIC AND FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT WE SERVE, THE MUSICIANS WE SERVE, THE ARTISTS, AND ALL OF THE EVENTS THAT WE HELP, UH, FACILITATE.
THIS IS GONNA BE AN EXCITING TIME OF BRINGING ALL OF THESE REALLY AMAZING SKILLED PEOPLE TOGETHER, UM, UNDER ONE ROOF TO, YOU KNOW, JUST KEEP BUILDING ON THE WONDERFUL SUCCESS WE'VE HAD SO FAR.
AND I'M SURE ANGELA CAN COME UP HERE AS WELL, DIRECTOR MEANS TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US.
BEDROOM COMMISSIONER CARVALHAL.
THIS, THIS SEEMS REALLY EXCITING.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT IT MEANS, BUT IT SOUNDS COOL.
UM, MY ONLY QUESTION JUST FROM AT A GLANCE, BECAUSE I, I REALLY DON'T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT IT.
UM, I THINK MAKING A COHESIVE PROGRAM WHERE ALL OF THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE TOGETHER AND CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS TO THE PUBLIC SEEMS LIKE THE RIGHT MOVE.
UM, WHAT DOES THIS DO TO, TO ACE AND ACE APPLICATIONS AND, AND SPECIAL EVENTS PERMITS? GOOD EVENING.
MY NAME'S ANGELA MEANS NICE TO MEET YOU.
THE ACE OFFICE WILL ALSO BE INCLUDED IN THE, UH, NEW DEPARTMENT, AND SO WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR EVENT STAFFING AND ORGANIZATIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
SO THE WHOLE PROGRAM JUST IS KIND OF JUST MOVING OVER AND DOESN'T CHANGE MUCH OF THE PROTOCOL AND HOW TO APPLY AND HOW THE SYSTEM WORKS AND ANY OF THAT STUFF? THAT'S CORRECT.
THE WHOLE PROGRAM IS MOVING OVER.
WE DO LOOK TO, UH, MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AS WE WORK, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD.
UH, WE DEFINITELY ANTICIPATE THAT IN ADDITION TO ACE MOVING OVER THE, UH, PARKS AND RECREATION SPECIAL EVENTS OFFICE ALSO WILL INCLUDE A COUPLE OF INDIVIDUALS FROM THAT TEAM THAT WILL ALSO MOVE OVER TO THIS NEW DEPARTMENT.
AND REALLY JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU GUYS PROPS.
THE NEW ACE APPLICATION PROCESS IS AWESOME.
I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR FIVE, SIX YEARS NOW, AND IT'S WAY, WAY COOLER THAN IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE SO FAR.
WELL, THE TEAM IS GREAT, SO THANK YOU.
AND BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, I KNOW, UM, DIRECTOR MEANS YOU DIDN'T HAVE A CHANCE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO THAT, PLEASE.
WELL, YOU ALL KNOW MY NAME ANGELA MEANS I'VE WORKED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR ALMOST 18 YEARS NOW.
I ORIGINATED FROM SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.
YES, CALIFORNIA
MY BACKGROUND IS IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, UM, BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, BUSINESS PROCESSES, AND FINANCIAL SERVICES.
I WORKED HERE IN, IN AUSTIN, UH, WITH THE AUSTIN CODE DEPARTMENT, THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, A SMALL STINT IN THE HOUSING OFFICE, AND, AND THEN OF COURSE NOW, UH, WITH THIS NEW OFFICE.
SO VERY EXCITED FOR AUSTIN, TEXAS, FOR THIS OFFICE.
I THINK, UM, WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT ALL OF THESE, UH, SECTORS ARE TO OUR CITY, AND NOW WE ARE REALLY, UM, ABLE TO FOCUS IN ON ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL, UH, AS WE MOVE THROUGH CREATING THAT OFFICE DIRECTOR MEANS.
UM, AND IT'S SO NICE TO MEET YOU, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT'S POSSIBLE.
UM, W WOULD YOU SAY THAT THERE IS ALREADY LIKE AN AN OVERARCHING, UH, DEFINED, YOU KNOW, VISION AND MISSION FOR THE D THE OFFICERS? THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S GONNA BE, IS IS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OFFICE? THAT'S, THAT'S GONNA BE TO COME.
IT IS DEFINITELY GOING TO BE TO COME.
UH, HERE SHORTLY WE WILL BE KICKING OFF, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS WELL AS THE STRATEGIC VISIONING, UH, FOR THE OFFICE, WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS, THE COMMUNITY, AND OUR CREATIVE INDUSTRIES.
SO WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING THAT COMMUNITY CONVERSATION AS TO WHERE WE GO.
UH, THIS IS A VERY EXCITING TIME, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE WORKING, UH, TOGETHER WITH, WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN EXCITING TIME FOR OUR COMMISSION TOO TO HELP SHAPE THAT.
UH, AND SO WE APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
UH, DO ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE, UH, ANYTHING THEY WANNA YEAH.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON.
UH, I JUST WANTED TO, UM, UM, SAY CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME TO THE NEW DIRECTOR.
UM, AND, UH, UM, I THINK, UH, THERE'S BEEN A LONGSTANDING ASK IN THE COMMUNITY.
IT WAS A RECOMMENDATION FROM BACK IN
[00:15:01]
2007 OR OH NINE, UH, TO HAVE A DEDICATED OFFICE, EXCUSE ME, FOR, UH, CULTURE ARTS, UH, A MUSIC.SO THIS IS, UH, SO THIS IS VERY EXCITING TO SEE, UH, THAT, UH, THE CITY MANAGER, UH, KIND OF LISTENED TO A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY AND HAS, UH, KIND OF TAKEN THIS STEP UP.
I MEAN, WITHIN, WITHIN THE YEAR, I WOULD, I WOULD THINK, UM, TO CREATE THIS NEW OFFICE, WHICH AT, UM, AS, UH, DIRECTOR AMIN SAID, WE'D EVENTUALLY EVOLVE INTO A, UH, OR, OR, OR DIRECTOR MEANS, OR ERICA SAID, THEY WOULD EVENTUALLY EVOLVE INTO A, A DEPARTMENT.
IT REALLY, IT REALLY ENABLES, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, FIRST OF ALL, AND IT REALLY, I THINK, ENABLES, UH, A DEDICATED FOCUS ON, ON, UH, THESE ASPECTS OF OUR COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, MUSIC, CULTURE, ARTS, AND, AND PUTTING THEM, UH, IN ONE, UH, BUCKET AND PROVIDING IT THE FOCUS THAT'S NEEDED.
UM, SO I'M JUST REALLY VERY THRILLED TO, UM, SEE THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED.
AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE HOW THE DEPARTMENT EVOLVES AND ALSO HOW, UM, WE AS A COMMISSION AND THE COMMUNITY CAN WORK WITH THIS DEPARTMENT AND ENGAGE TO, UH, UH, REALLY, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, BUILD, BUILD A SECTOR.
AND ALSO, UH, IT PROVIDES A DEDICATED FOCUS TO ADDRESS ANY SPECIFIC SECTOR SPECIFIC, UH, ISSUES.
SO, UM, AGAIN, JUST WANTED TO SAY, UH, UH, I'M JUST REALLY EXCITED TO SEE, UH, UH, THIS, THIS CHANGE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TONIGHT, DIRECTOR MEANS, AND, UM, OKAY.
[3. Live Music Fund collections briefing by Kim McCarson, Program Manager, Music & Entertainment Division, Office of Arts, Culture, Music & Entertainment. ]
ITEM THREE, LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTION, BRIEFING BY KIM MCC CARSON, PROGRAM MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND THE OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.GOOD EVENING, KIM MCC CARSON, PROGRAM MANAGER.
SO I'M GONNA GIVE YOU THE UPDATE THROUGH DECEMBER FOR COLLECTIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, FOR DECEMBER, THE HOT, UH, HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX COLLECTIONS FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND ARE 17,407.
SO THAT GIVES US A YEAR TO DATE.
THAT WOULD BE OCTOBER THROUGH DECEMBER OF 873,259 FOR LIVE MUSIC FUND.
IT'S OKAY, YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE, YEAH, JUST LEAVE IT THERE.
ANY QUESTIONS? SO THAT'S OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER.
YEAH, SO THE BLUE AT THE BOTTOM IS OCTOBER.
THAT WAS THE FIRST MONTH FOR THE NEW FISCAL YEAR, AND THEN THERE'S A LITTLE BITTY LINE THAT YOU REALLY CAN'T HARDLY SEE.
AND THEN, OR NO, SORRY, ORANGE IS NOVEMBER.
YEAH, THE KEY, THE KEY ON THE BOTTOM, THE ORANGE IS NOVEMBER, AND THEN THE LITTLE, THE LITTLE TINY LINE IS ACTUALLY DECEMBER FOR THE 17,407.
YOU CAN KIND OF, IT'S KIND OF SHOWING UP THERE.
IT'S ALWAYS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW IT COMPARES TO THE PRIOR YEARS.
SO, UH, YEAH, LOOKS LIKE WE HAD A LITTLE BUMP IN DECEMBER.
LITTLE, LITTLE, LITTLE BUMP LOOKS LIKE
UH, BUT BASICALLY THINGS ARE, YOU KNOW, ON TRACK CONSISTENT YEAR OVER YEAR, SO THAT'S GOOD TO SEE.
UH, ANY COMMISSIONERS, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YEAH, JUST ONE QUESTION.
I MEAN, FROM THE, FROM 23 AND 24, WHAT IS THAT? I CAN'T SEE IF THAT'S 5,000 OR 6,023.
UM, BUT I MEAN, A HUGE JUMP OVER THOSE TWO YEARS.
ANY INTEL ON THAT? SO, UM, WELL, SO FOR 23, IT'S 5,509.
I KNOW THE LINES ON THE SCREEN THERE ARE KIND OF GO THROUGH IN THE NUMBERS HERE.
AND THEN, UM, IN 2024, IT'S 5,000 3 54, AND IT JUMPED THIS YEAR, 17,407.
UH, SO IT DOES LOOK LIKE A JUMP, BUT AS, AS FAR AS WHY THAT IS OR WHATEVER, I DON'T HAVE ANY DATA ON THAT SPECIFICALLY.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S THE NUMBER THAT'S BEING REPORTED, RIGHT? SO SOME OF THAT ACTUALLY COULD HAVE BEEN IN NOVEMBER, AND IT JUST, THE REPORTING ROLL IN A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY SOMETIMES.
[4. Austin Live Music Fund briefing by Erica Shamaly, Division Manager, Music and Entertainment Division.]
WE HAVE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND BRIEFING BY ERICA SHAMLEY, DIVISION MANAGER, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.ERICA SHAMLEY, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER.
SO FIRST WE'RE JUST GONNA GO THROUGH THE 2024 STATS FOR THE CURRENT PROGRAM OF THE AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
UM, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THE NUMBERS ARE BASICALLY THE SAME, BUT WE
[00:20:01]
HAVE GOTTEN MORE OF THOSE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD FINAL PAYMENTS OUT.SO, UM, EVERYONE'S COMPLETED THEIR GRANT AGREEMENT ORIENTATIONS.
UM, WE'RE STILL WAITING ON FIVE PEOPLE TO FINISH THEIR FINANCIAL INFORMATION FORMS IN ORDER TO GET THEIR AGREEMENTS DONE.
BUT, UM, WE HAVE GOTTEN 130 FIRST PAYMENTS OUT OUT OF THE 136 AWARDEES, 45 SECOND PAYMENTS PAID OUT SO FAR, AND FOUR FULLY PAID AND COMPLETED AWARD AGREEMENTS, UM, OUT OF THE 136 AWARDS, WHICH IS GREAT.
SO NOW WE WANNA TALK ABOUT THE 2025 PROGRAM.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN DOING LOTS OF ENGAGEMENT WITH YOU GUYS SINCE LAST SEPTEMBER, AND THE TOTAL GRANT AWARD, STILL 48, UH, UH, 4,000,800, $800,000, $300,000 OF THAT WILL BE FOR $5,000 GRANTS TO 60 EMERGING ARTISTS OR JUST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SAYING EMERGING, BUT IT'S FOR FOLKS THAT WANT TO, YOU KNOW, AND THIS WILL BE AN ANNUAL ONE YEAR AGREEMENT YOU CAN APPLY YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, THEN THAT LEAVES THE $3.5 MILLION WORD BUDGET FOR THE $20,000 GRANTS FOR 175 PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS AND INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS.
AGAIN, THESE WILL BE TWO YEAR AGREEMENTS, AND YOU CAN APPLY, YOU CANNOT APPLY THE FOLLOWING YEAR, SO YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE WHOLE TWO YEARS BEFORE YOU'RE ABLE TO APPLY AGAIN.
AND THEN AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE A $1 MILLION AWARD BUDGET FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES, WHICH WILL BE $60,000 GRANTS.
TYPICALLY, WE DO HAVE A, YOU KNOW, LINE ITEM TWO FOR $30,000 GRANTS IF YOU ARE BUDGET IS UNDER A CERTAIN AMOUNT.
UM, AND THAT'S FOR A, JUST IN CASE.
BUT THIS LAST YEAR WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY WITH AN OPERATING BUDGET THAT SMALL, UH, IT HAD 17 LIVE MUSIC VENUES FOR $60,000 GRANTS.
AGAIN, THOSE ARE ONE YEAR AGREEMENTS YOU CAN APPLY YEAR OVER YEAR, UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT IS SUCH A SMALL PORTION OF A VENUE BUDGET, UH, THAT WE WANNA BE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING THIS SUPPORT OUT INTO THE VENUE COMMUNITY YEAR OVER YEAR.
OKAY, SO I JUST WANNA SAY A BIG THANK YOU TO THE LIVE MUSIC FUND WORKING GROUP FOR WORKING SO LONG, WEEK AFTER WEEK, SEVERAL MEETINGS OF VOLUNTEER HOURS TO, UH, COME BACK WITH A RECOMMENDATION, UH, FOR WHAT THEY'D LIKE TO SEE FOR THE 2025 AUSTIN LIVE MUSIC FUND.
AND SO, I AM, WHAT WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU HERE IS KIND OF THE WORDS THAT YOU USED AND THE RECOMMENDATION AND KIND OF OUR INTERPRETATION OF KIND OF, YOU KNOW, THE SAME KIND OF THING, BUT WE'RE BRANDING IT A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
AND YOU'LL UNDERSTAND WHY WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE SCORING, UH, CRITERIA.
SO, THE WORKING GROUP HAD A FIRST PRIORITY OF PAST MUSIC INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH 50% OF THE SCORE.
THE SECOND PRIORITY WAS LOCAL, UM, ECONOMIC IMPACT WITH 25% OF THE SCORE.
THE THIRD PRIORITY WAS MUSIC MARKETING AT 20% OF THE SCORE.
AND PRIORITY FOUR, THE LAST PRIORITY WAS ACCESSIBILITY AT 5% OF THE SCORE.
SO FOR, UM, PROGRAM STAFF PRIORITY, AND THIS IS JUST BASED ON THE FACT THAT THESE, THE STATE OF TEXAS HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX FUNDS TO, UH, TAXPAYER FUNDS THAT WE MADE THE PRIORITY, THE FIRST PRIORITY BE CULTURAL TOURISM AND MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE ACCESSIBILITY AS PART OF THAT NOW, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT SHORTLY IN THE SCORING CRITERIA.
AND THAT'S BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY THESE FUNDS ARE TO HELP PROMOTE AUSTIN AS A TOURIST DESTINATION THROUGH, YOU KNOW, THESE MUSICAL ACTIVITIES.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA MAKE THAT A FIRST PRIORITY FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE.
THEN THE SECOND PRIORITY, UH, INSTEAD OF CALLING IT LOCAL, UM, ECONOMIC IMPACT, WE'RE CALLING IT AUSTIN MUSIC ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT.
UM, JUST SO THAT WE WERE ABLE, AND YOU'LL SEE AGAIN WHEN WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, HOW WE ARE ENCAPSULATING ADDIT, YOU KNOW, PREVIOUS SCORING CRITERIA INTO THIS CATEGORY.
AND THEN PRIORITY THREE ARTIST DEVELOPMENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS DISCUSSED WITH THE $5,000 GRANTS OF, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO CREATE A SPACE FOR NEW MUSICIANS OR EMERGING ARTISTS, UM, TO HAVE A SPACE AND ALSO FOR OTHER MUSICIANS THAT WORK WITH, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUNGER TALENT OR WITH EMERGING TALENT, UM, AND PROVIDING SOME KIND OF SCORING CRITERIA FOR SEASONED MUSICIANS THAT WORK WITH EMERGING TALENT.
AND THEN FOR THE FOURTH PRIORITY, WE PUT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
AND SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UM, AND THIS IS FOR NOW THE LIVE MUSIC VENUES.
THIS WASN'T SPECIFICALLY PART OF THE FORMAL RECOMMENDATION, BUT IT WAS PART OF THE WORKING GROUP FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVE FROM LIVE MUSIC VENUES.
AND SO I WANTED TO KIND OF GO THROUGH THOSE PRIORITY ORDERS AND THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH THE SCORING CRITERIA.
SO, WORKING GROUP PRIORITY ORDER WAS 25% TO ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC IMPACT PROGRAMMING AND OUTREACH TOURISM AND PREVIOUS CITY FUNDING.
AND THEN AGAIN, FOR STAFF PRIORITY ORDER BASED ON THE FACT THAT THESE ARE HOT
[00:25:01]
FUNDS, UH, TAXPAYER FUNDS, YOU KNOW, AND THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A GOVERNMENT ENTITY, UH, THAT REALLY WANTS TO SEE HOW THESE DOLLARS CAN AFFECT THE BO YOU KNOW, OVERALL, YOU KNOW, OUR, YOU KNOW, ECONOMY, OUR MUSIC ECONOMY, AND ALSO JUST, UH, HELPING TO GROW AND DEVELOP OUR MUSIC ECONOMY HERE.SO, CULTURAL TOURISM MARKETING OUTREACH IS OUR FIRST PRIORITY.
AUSTIN MUSIC ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR SECOND PRIORITY.
AND LIVE MUSIC VENUE DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR THIRD PRIORITY.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE FOR THIS IS FOR THE MUSICIANS AND PROMOTERS, WE HAVE TWO SEPARATE GRIDS.
ONE FOR MUSICIANS AND PROMOTERS, ONE FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUES.
WE HAVE NOT PUT IN THE AVAILABLE POINTS 'CAUSE WE WERE FIGURING, YES.
SO WE KNOW WHAT THE PRIORITY ORDER IS FROM THE WORKING GROUPS.
AND WE ALSO KNOW WHAT THE, YOU KNOW, PRIORITY ORDER WOULD BE FROM STAFF, BUT LET'S NEGOTIATE, LET'S TALK THROUGH IT AND, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THIS AT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND AT IN THE WHOLE, SO THAT WE CAN THEN DECIDE TOGETHER REALLY WHAT WOULD BE THE FIRST, SECOND, THIRD PRIORITY.
SO, UH, WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT WHAT THOSE AVAILABLE POINTS SHOULD BE FOR EACH SECTION, KEEPING IN MIND KIND OF WHAT WE PREVIOUSLY JUST DISCUSSED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDES.
SO AGAIN, CULTURAL TOURISM, MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
AND THESE ARE ALL KIND OF ELEMENTS PULLED DIRECTLY FROM THE RECOMMENDATION FROM PREVIOUS GUIDELINES, FROM OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE JUST, AS KIM AND I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE PAST, HOW COULD WE DO THIS BETTER? 'CAUSE WE'RE CONSTANTLY TRYING TO IMPROVE, SO INNOVATE.
SO FOR THE CULTURAL TOURISM, MARKETING AND OUTREACH, WE'RE LOOKING AT INNOVATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE AUSTIN AS A TOURIST AND CONVENTION DESTINATION, EXPANDING AUDIENCES AND FAN BASES LOCALLY AS WELL AS OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN.
IMPACTFUL SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT PROVIDES ACCESSIBLE FEATURES FOR AUDIENCES WITH DISABILITIES, PROGRAMMING AND FEATURES FOR NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES AND PROGRAMMING OPEN TO AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.
SO AGAIN, AS LAST YEAR WE HAD A SEPARATE SCORING SECTION FOR ACCESSIBILITY.
AND, AND THIS YEAR WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT IT IN WITH THE CULTURAL TOURISM, MARKETING AND OUTREACH, BECAUSE THE MORE ACCESSIBLE YOU ARE, THE BIGGER YOUR AUDIENCE POTENTIAL IS.
SO FOR AUSTIN MUSIC ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT, UM, PAYS AT LEAST THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
MUSICIAN RATE TO HIGHER PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS PAYS A LIVING WAGE TO MUSIC INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, HIRES AT LEAST 40% LOCAL MUSICIANS HIRES CREATIVES YEAR ROUND FOR SUCH OPERATIONS AS MERCHANDISE PRODUCTION, MARKETING, OUTREACH, EQUIPMENT STORAGE, ET CETERA.
AND HIRES LOCAL CREATIVE SPACES.
AND THEN FOR ARTIST DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO WE WERE THINKING FOR THE $5,000 GRANTS, PERHAPS WE JUST USED THIS ONE SECTION AS OF SCORING FOR THE $5,000 GRANTS.
AND SO PARTICIPATES IN CAREER TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PARTICIPATES IN MUSIC PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLS, CULTURAL CENTERS, YOUTH PRIVATE LESSONS CAMPS, WORKSHOPS, PERFORMS VOLUNTEERS AT BENEFITS CONCERTS TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR NONPROFIT CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND LIMITED ACCESS TO FINANCIAL LENDING LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH SPOKEN IN THE HOUSEHOLD LIVES IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK AND NO PREVIOUS LIVE MUSIC FUND AWARD.
AND SO AGAIN, WE'VE ADDED SOME OF THE ACCESS TO SERVICES, OR LIMITED ACCESS TO SERVICES CRITERIA FROM LAST YEAR INTO THIS SECTION FOR ARTIST DEVELOPMENT.
WE WOULD STILL INCLUDE THE SECTION FOR BOTH THE 20,000 AND $5,000 GRANTS, BUT WE'RE THINKING MAYBE FOR THE $5,000 GRANTS TO SIMPLIFY THAT PROCESS THAT WE WOULD JUST USE THIS CATEGORY FOR THE 5,000.
BUT WE WANNA HEAR FROM YOU ON THAT.
AND THEN FINALLY, MUSIC INDUSTRY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, PERCENTAGE OF PERSONAL INCOME DEPENDENT ON MUSIC, NUMBER OF MUSIC INDUSTRY RECOGNITION AWARDS, FREQUENCY OF PUBLIC SHOWS FOR AUDIENCES OF AT LEAST 300 AND NUMBER OF MUSIC STREAMS AND DOWNLOADS, RECORDINGS, NATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL MUSIC, FESTIVALS, TOURS, RADIO BROADCASTS, AND AIRPLAY.
AND THAT WAS ACTUALLY A BUNCH OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN THAT CATEGORY FROM THE WORKING GROUP THAT WE KIND OF JUST PUT ON ONE LINE TO KEEP IT SIMPLE.
BUT WHEN YOU GO INTO THE APPLICATION, THAT WOULD EQUATE TO SEVERAL QUESTIONS ASKING THAT, THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, COUNT UP, UH, POINTS FOR THAT.
WE'LL GO INTO THE LIVE MUSIC VENUES.
SO AGAIN, CULTURAL, YOU KNOW, AS LAST YEAR WE HAVE DIFFERENT TYPE OF SCORING FOR VENUES BASED ON THE BUSINESS NEED AND THE BUSINESS MODEL.
SO FIRST PRIORITY FOR US WAS THE CULTURAL TOURISM, MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
SO DEVELOPING NEW AND INNOVATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE TO AUSTIN AS A TOURISM CONVENTION DE DESTINATION.
AND THIS WAS SOME, WE PULLED THIS DIRECTLY FROM THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE WORKING GROUP, THE VENUE WORKING GROUP, 'CAUSE THESE WERE SOME GREAT IDEAS.
UM, COLLABORATION WITH EVENT ORGANIZERS ON MAJOR EVENTS AND CONVENTIONS, COLLABORATION ON VENUES, UH, VENUE EVENTS, SPECIFIC TRAVEL PACKAGES, PARTNERSHIPS WITH HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND TRANSPORTATION PROVIDERS TO OFFER BUNDLED
[00:30:01]
EXPERIENCES.AND THEN ALSO EXPANDING AUDIENCES AND FAN BASES LOCALLY AS WELL AS OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN, LIKE THE PREVIOUS CA UH, FOR MUSICIANS AND PROMOTERS.
IMPACTFUL SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT PROVIDES ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES FOR AUDIENCES WITH DISABILITIES.
UH, FEATURES PROGRAMMING FOR NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES AND PROGRAMMING, AGAIN, OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND THEN AGAIN, FOR THE AUSTIN MUSIC ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT, MORE THAN 50% OF INCOME IS GENERATED FROM MUSIC EVENTS.
AND SO THIS WAS A VERY SPECIFIC CRITERIA SUGGESTED BY THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE SIDE OF THE WORKING GROUP.
'CAUSE THEY REALLY WANNA FOCUS ON VENUES THAT FIT THE DEFINITION, BUT REALLY DO DO MOST OF THEIR BUSINESS FOR MUSIC.
UM, 'CAUSE WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT VENUES THAT COULD FIT THE DEFINITION, THAT COULD HAVE OTHER, YOU KNOW, REVENUE STREAMS. AND SO THOSE REVENUE STREAMS COULD ACTUALLY OUTWEIGH HOW MUCH MONEY IS BEING MADE FROM MUSIC.
AND SO THE RECOMMENDATION WAS TO, UH, MORE THAN 50% OF INCOME IS GENERATED FROM MUSIC EVENTS, YOU KNOW, GIVES YOU THOSE ADDITIONAL POINTS THAT WE WANNA PRIORITIZE.
AND THEN AGAIN, HIRES AT LEAST 40% LOCAL MUSICIANS HIRES LOCAL BUSINESSES AND CREATIVES FOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS YEAR ROUND FOR SUCH OPERATIONS AS MERCHANDISE MARKETING, OUTREACH, EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES, ET CETERA.
AND THEN PERFORMANCE TICKET SALES, UM, PROVIDES FREE OR LOW COST TEMPORARY SPACE FOR OTHER CREATIVE ORGANIZATIONS.
TRACK, UH, RECORD OF ADDING LOCAL BANDS AND SUPPORT FOR TOURING SHOWS.
I KNOW THAT'S NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE, BUT WE LOVE WHEN VENUES ACTUALLY DO ADVOCATE FOR THAT WHEN THEY'RE WORKING WITH AGENTS TO, WHEN THEY'RE ROUTING TOURS THROUGH THEIR VENUES, PROVIDES INTERNSHIPS AND APPRENTICESHIPS, UM, HOSTS BENEFIT CONCERTS TO RAISE AWARENESS FOR NONPROFIT CHARITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THEN FOR THE VENUE DEVELOPMENT SIDE OF THIS, LIMITED ACCESS TO FINANCIAL LENDING LOCATED IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK AND NO PREVIOUS LIVE MUSIC FUND AWARD.
AND AGAIN, NO POINTS ARE ASSIGNED.
THIS IS THE CONVERSATION WE'D LIKE TO HAVE WITH YOU TONIGHT TO DECIDE WHAT SHOULD BE THE PRIORITY WITHIN, UH, THE SCORING CRITERIA FOR BOTH SECTIONS.
AND SO THIS, WE'LL, WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS IN A SECOND TO KIND OF GO THROUGH ALL OF THESE, YOU KNOW, TO DISCUSS ALL OF THIS.
BUT IN TERMS OF THE APPLICATION SCHEDULE, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT POTENTIALLY FALL 2025, UH, AS AN APPLICATION LAUNCH WITH THESE CONSIDERATIONS, THE NEW LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, SESSION FOR AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THAT COULD AFFECT ONGOING CITY GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND POLICIES, AND THEN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MILESTONES FOR THE CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING PROGRAMS AS WELL.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF UNKNOWNS AS DIRECTOR MEANS HAD, YOU KNOW, MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, AND THAT THIS HAVING THIS OFFICE COME TOGETHER TOO, IS ALSO, WE HAVE A LOT TO KIND OF GET ORGANIZED TO BE SURE THAT WE CAN PROPERLY SUPPORT ANY LAUNCH WITH GOOD MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
AND SO IT'S GONNA TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO JUST, TO GET ALL OF THAT ORGANIZED, BUT I THINK IT'S GONNA BE DEFINITELY WORTH WEIGHT, UH, BECAUSE WE CAN BE MORE THOUGHTFUL, WE CAN REALLY DOUBLE DOWN ON THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN ACROSS THE CITY.
WE WANT, I MEAN, I KNOW WE HAD OVER A THOUSAND APPLICATIONS TO LIVE MUSIC FUND LAST YEAR AND WE WERE SO OVER PRESCRIBED, AND THAT'S A, THAT'S A GOOD THING, BUT WE WANNA REACH MORE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS AVAILABLE TO THEM.
THIS IS A RESOURCE THAT'S AVAILABLE.
AND SO THIS WILL GIVE US TIME TO KIND OF LEVEL SET AND RESET HOW WE DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, NOT ONLY IN THE MUSIC COMMUNITY, BUT IN THE ARTS AND CULTURE COMMUNITY AND, AND GIVE US THE TIME TO GET ALL OF THE, YOU KNOW, STAFF TOGETHER, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PROPERLY SUPPORT ALL OF THIS AND DO IT WELL.
AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD THAT TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA SEE, YOU WANNA SEE MORE SUPPORT FOR APPLICANTS, YOU WANNA SEE MORE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN, UM, WE WANNA WORK WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS TO BE SURE THAT THIS IS AS SIMPLE A PROCESS AS WE CAN MAKE IT.
AND SO WE'RE JUST GONNA NEED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO DO THAT.
THESE, AGAIN, THE SURVEY IS STILL OPEN AROUND THE CULTURAL ARTS AND MUSIC FUNDING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SURVEY.
I KNOW IT'S ONLY ONE QUESTION OF LIKE, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY? UM, BUT WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO PLEASE, YOU KNOW, SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THAT.
IF, IF PEOPLE HAVEN'T GIVEN THEIR, UH, FEEDBACK ALREADY, PLEASE, THIS IS A WAY FOR YOU TO GO AND CATALOG YOUR FEEDBACK, NOT ONLY ABOUT YOUR PAST EXPERIENCES, BUT WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THESE NEW SCORING CRITERIA FOR 2025.
AND I'M HAPPY TO OPEN IT UP TO QUESTIONS.
SO I'M SURE THAT, UM, OUR COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS, SO YEAH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO IS GO AHEAD AND HA WE'LL GO ONE BY ONE AND GO AHEAD AND ASK ALL OF THE QUESTIONS MM-HMM
THAT YOU HAVE, AND THEN WE'LL GO TO THE NEXT PERSON AND I'LL, I'LL GO LAST.
UM, AND IT LOOKED LIKE, UH, COMMISSIONER CHARLA HAD HER HAND UP AND, UH, SO YEAH, GO
[00:35:01]
AHEAD.UH, I THINK, UM, UH, OBVIOUSLY, UM, I HOPE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF, UM, READ, READ THROUGH THIS DOCUMENT, UH, THE UPDATES THAT HAVE BEEN PRESENTED AND KIND OF ALSO COME BACK WITH, UH, SOME MORE QUESTIONS AND REACTIONS, UH, IN THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.
BUT OFFHAND WHAT, WHAT I CAN SEE, UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU ERICA FOR, UH, PRESENTING THIS UPDATE, UM, AND, AND KIND OF TAKING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE WORKING GROUP INTO CONSIDERATION AND THEN, UM, AND, AND PROVIDING THIS UPDATE TO US HERE TODAY.
UM, JUST WANTED TO, UM, UH, TOUCH UPON A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT, UH, CAME OUT OF THE WORKING GROUP.
UM, YOU KNOW, VERSUS WHAT, WHAT WE SEE HERE, THERE'S A LOT OF FEEDBACK THAT'S BEEN INCORPORATED, UM, AND THAT'S BEAUTIFUL.
UM, THE, THE REASON I, I THINK I'M SEEING, UH, THINGS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, MULTI-LANGUAGE, ET CETERA COME IN AND THESE THINGS WERE, THESE THINGS HAVE, YOU KNOW, BEEN DISCUSSED.
UH, WE'VE SEEN SOME FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
I THINK IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY SPECIFICALLY, WHEN WE USE, FIRST OF ALL LANGUAGES, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMETHING LIKE LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN IN THE HOUSEHOLD, UM, IT'S A, IT'S, IT'S HARD TO PROVE, UH, THAT, RIGHT? SO IT'S, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S NOTHING SOMEBODY CAN PROVIDE EVIDENT, YOU KNOW, EVIDENTIARY WAY TO PROVE THAT.
ALSO, WHEN WE SAY MULTI-LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING, I THINK ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RAN INTO WITHIN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS, UH, IS SOMEBODY, UH, SAY EVEN PLAYING, UM, A GENRE OF HIP HOP MUSIC MIGHT GET DISADVANTAGED.
WELL, THAT IS ONE GENRE AS AN EXAMPLE THAT'S HISTORICALLY NOT FOUND A LOT OF SUPPORT, UM, WITHIN THE, UH, MUSIC, THE LIVE MUSIC ECOSYSTEM.
OF COURSE THINGS ARE CHANGING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT IT'S POSSIBLE THAT SOMEBODY PLAYING THAT GENRE MIGHT GET DISADVANTAGED BY, BY THAT MULTI-LANGUAGE QUESTION.
SO I THINK WHAT CAME OUT WAS THAT THAT MIGHT JUST NOT BE AS APPLICABLE, UM, TO THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
UM, THE OTHER THING I CAN THINK OF, I'M, I'M JUST KIND OF, I, I KNOW WE, WE USED THESE PARAMETERS IN THE LAST ROUND AND I'M JUST KIND OF TRYING TO GO OVER WHY WE MIGHT HAVE DECIDED AGAINST SOME OF THESE IN THE WORKING GROUP, FOR EXAMPLE.
UH, WE TAKE, UH, WHAT PART OF YOUR INCOME, UH, DO YOU, UM, IT IS, IT IS A GIVEN, UH, THAT A MOST OR A LOT OF, UH, FOLKS, STAKEHOLDERS FROM THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY MUSICIANS, ALL CANNOT, CANNOT HAVE A LIVING WAGE WITHOUT DOING ANOTHER JOB.
SO IT STARTS LOOKING LIKE WE ARE PENALIZING SOMEBODY FOR HAVING A DAY JOB AND ALSO PASSIONATELY PURSUING THEIR MUSIC CAREER.
SO THAT'S WHY SO MUCH OF IT CAME DOWN TO MUSICIAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND KIND OF REALLY CENTER THAT.
UH, BECAUSE ONE OF THE THINGS, WHETHER WE LOOKED AT THE ARTS OR THE MUSIC GRANTS IN THE PAST IS WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T HAVE MUSIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS OR ARTS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN THE GRANTS, UH, AS MUCH, RIGHT? SO, OR NONE, YOU KNOW, SO IN SOME WAYS THAT REALLY NEED TO GET PRIORITIZED.
UH, SO THAT WAS THE DRIVING IDEA.
AND SOME OF THIS IS SEMANTICS.
SO, UM, UH, I AGREE LIKE WHEN YOU MOVE TOURISM UP, UH, A MUSICIAN THAT HAS, UH, HIT CERTAIN MILESTONES, UH, MIGHT NATURALLY DO WELL IN THAT, UH, IN TOURISM AND MARKETING, THEY'RE PROBABLY ALREADY, UM, YOU KNOW, SELLING THEATER SHOWS OR, OR, OR GETTING, UH, YOU KNOW, SELLING HIGHER NUMBER OF TICKETS.
UM, SO THAT THOSE, SOME OF THAT JUST MIGHT BE SEMANTICS.
BUT, SO I THINK THAT WAS THE OTHER THING IS, IS LOT OF MUSICIANS HAVE DAY JOBS OR THEY HAVE TO DO OTHER, OTHER WORK IN ORDER TO, UH, BE ABLE TO DO THEIR MUSIC AND WE SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZING.
SO REALLY CENTER, UM, THE GRANTS AROUND WHAT HAVE THEY ACCOMPLISHED NO MATTER WHAT, BECAUSE IT'S ANYBODY'S OWN PREROGATIVE WHETHER THEY CHOOSE TO WORK 80 HOURS OR 120 HOURS OR 40 OR 20 HOURS, AND HOW DO WE QUANTIFY THAT, RIGHT? UM, SO, UH, WITHIN, WITHIN THE INDUSTRY.
SO I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THE ECONOMIC INDICATORS THAT WE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I THINK THEY, THEY DO HELP TOWARDS MAKING THE GRANTS MORE EQUITABLE.
UH, BUT FROM THE OUTCOMES DEMOGRAPHICALLY, I THINK WE DID VERY WELL LAST TIME.
AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHY I, I, I THINK, AND MYSELF AND A LOT OF FOLKS ON THIS COMMISSION, UM, STOOD BEHIND THAT.
UM, BUT ALSO WE GOT FEEDBACK THAT THEY WERE REALLY QUALIFIED MUSICIANS WHO PERHAPS WERE NOT LIVING, UH, IN A CERTAIN ZIP CODE AND KIND OF MAYBE HAVE MAYBE LOST A FEW POINTS THERE, LOST A FEW POINTS SOMEWHERE ELSE AND DIDN'T MAKE THE GRANTS.
UM, SO, SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT IT KIND OF REALLY CAME DOWN TO IS TO REALLY CENTER THIS
[00:40:01]
AROUND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, YOU KNOW, AND LET THAT BE A DRIVER OF, YOU KNOW, DETERMINING, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT KIND OF TOURISM IMPACT HAVE YOU HAD IN THE PAST AND MAY CONTINUE TO HAVE.UM, QUICKLY THE LAST THING ON, UH, YOU KNOW, I CAN THINK OF IS ON THE PENALTY.
UH, WELL, IT'S A, WELL, YOU CAN CALL IT A PENALTY FOR SOMEBODY WHO GOT THE GRANT LAST TIME AND IS TRYING TO APPLY AGAIN.
THEY MIGHT LOSE SOME POINTS, OR YOU COULD CALL IT A BONUS FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S NEVER APPLIED AND GETS A BONUS.
UM, A COUPLE OF POINTS THIS TIME, I THINK THAT WAS THAT TEAM, WE, WE, WE, WE TOOK THAT OUT AS WELL IS BECAUSE, UM, FOUR YEARS, ESPECIALLY THE FACT THAT THESE ARE TWO YEAR GRANTS, FOUR YEARS IS A LONG TIME IN A MUSICIAN'S CAREER IF THEY ARE REALLY, UH, MOVING FORWARD AND KIND OF HITTING MILESTONES.
SO IT SEEMED, IT SEEMED ALL RIGHT TO US THAT WE, THAT AN ARTIST WOULD GET A GRANT FOR TWO YEARS AND IF THEY'RE REALLY USING IT WELL AND REALLY THRIVING, MAKING, MAKING STRIDES, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT NEXT GRANT TO THEM.
AND MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW IF, I DON'T REMEMBER IF WE RECOMMENDED THAT IN ANY WAY, BUT MAYBE ONE OF THE WAYS IS TO MAYBE CAP IT ON THE OTHER SIDE IF AFTER TWO TIMES MAYBE YOU HAVE TO TAKE A BREAK AS OPPOSED TO ADDING A, ADDING A PENALTY, UM, IT MIGHT BE AN IDEA WORTH CONSIDERING TO CAP IT, LIKE YOU GET IT, GET THIS TWO TIMES IN A SIX YEAR P SIX YEAR PERIOD, THEN LET'S, LET'S, YOU KNOW, TAKE A BREAK AND THEN YOU CAN COME BACK, UH, AFTER ANOTHER TWO YEARS AND MAYBE TRY TO CAP IT AND, YOU KNOW, DIVERSIFY THE GRANTEES IN THAT MANNER.
UM, I'LL, I'LL COME BACK IF I HAVE OTHER COMMENTS, BUT I MEAN, OVERALL, I THINK A LOT OF THIS STUFF IS VERY, VERY ALIGNED, UM, TO A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE WORKING GROUP MADE.
I THINK, UH, IT'S REALLY GOING TO KIND OF ALSO COME DOWN TO HOW WE FINISH MAKING THIS EQUITABLE.
OUR VIEWPOINT WAS KIND OF REALLY MAKE IT EQUITABLE IN THE WAY THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, THE QUESTIONS, ET CETERA ARE ASKED AS OPPOSED TO PUTTING IN LANGUAGE OR QCT OR OTHER ECONOMIC INDICATOR CRITERIA THIS ROUND, UH, AND SEE HOW, WHAT THE OUTCOMES ARE, UH, BASED ON THAT.
UM, SO WE ALSO DID A, AND I THINK WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WENT OVER THIS WITH YOU LAST YEAR, IS HOW THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WORKED OUT IN TERMS OF SCORING DIVERSIFICATION LAST YEAR, AND WHICH ONES REALLY WHAT QUESTIONS AND WHAT ANSWERS REALLY MOVED THE NEEDLE IN TERMS OF CREATING SUCH A DIVERSE POOL OF AWARDEES, WHICH WE DID HAVE THAT WAS VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF, OF THE CITY'S POPULATION AND DID A GOOD JOB, UM, AROUND JUST THOSE ACCESS TO SERVICES QUESTIONS.
SO FOR THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK, THAT IS A FEDERAL, YOU KNOW, IT, IT IS REEVALUATED EVERY SINGLE YEAR BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND SO WHAT COULD BE AN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK ONE YEAR IS NOT THE NEXT YEAR.
SO THOSE ARE CONSTANTLY REEVALUATED AND HOPEFULLY THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE.
AND SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE KEPT THAT ONE IN, IS THAT IT REALLY DID HELP DIVERSIFY THE SCORES.
WHEN YOU HAVE SUCH A LARGE APPLICANT POOL WHEN YOU HAVE OVER A THOUSAND APPLICANTS, WE REALLY NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DIVERSIFY THOSE SCORES IN ORDER TO GET, UH, INTO A, A QUEUE, YOU KNOW, FROM HIGHEST TO LOWEST.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE KEPT THAT IN.
AND ALSO ON THE VENUE SIDE, AS THINGS GET MORE EXPENSIVE, AND IT'S NOT JUST THE VENUE SIDE, IT'S THE LIVING SIDE, ANYONE LIVING, UM, IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW, IT'S, AS THINGS GET MORE EXPENSIVE, PEOPLE ARE MOVING FURTHER AWAY.
AND A LOT OF TIMES THOSE PLACES THAT ARE FURTHER AWAY FROM THE CORE ARE WITHIN THESE TRACKS.
AND SO IT DOES HELP KIND OF, UH, PROVIDE JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME MORE INFORMATION TO HELP PRIORITIZE THE SCORES.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE MUSIC INCOME COMPONENT, AGAIN, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME OUT OF COVID THAT WAS REAL IMPORTANT TO THE MUSIC COMMUNITY ABOUT, UH, PRIORITIZING MUSICIANS THAT MAKE MOST OF THEIR MONEY THROUGH MUSIC ACTIVITIES.
IT'S UP TO YOU GUYS IF YOU THINK THAT THAT TIME HAS PASSED THAT THAT WAS MORE IMPORTANT DURING THE TIME OF COVID AND THAT NOW MAYBE THAT ISN'T THE BEST CRITERIA THAT WE SHOULD BE USING.
UM, AS FAR AS THE OTHER ACCESS TO SERVICES QUESTIONS, WE KEPT IN THE QUESTION AROUND LENDING LANGUAGES KEPT IN, YOU KNOW, OTHER LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE HOUSEHOLD.
UM, AND I THINK THOSE WERE THE ONLY OTHER ONES, JUST BECAUSE THEY WORKED.
WE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DID THE, UM, EVALUATION OF THE SCORES, IT REALLY DID MOVE THE NEEDLE.
IT WASN'T LIKE ACROSS THE BOARD, LIKE THE BANKING QUESTION THAT WE USED TO HAVE.
WE DID GET RID OF IT BECAUSE IT DIDN'T PROVIDE ANY DIVERSIFICATION OF SCORES.
[00:45:01]
THESE WERE THE ONES THAT WE KEPT IN THAT REALLY HELPED MOVE THE NEEDLE AND HELPED DIVERSIFY THE AWARDEE POOL.UM, BUT WE'RE WILLING TO, OF COURSE, TALK THROUGH ALL OF THAT.
UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE DIDN'T PUT A PERCENTAGE OF SCORED POINTS IN YET.
UM, WE WERE HOPING THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT IT, UH, IN THIS FORMAT AND CONSIDERING THAT THIS IS A CITY GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM WITH TAXPAYER MONEY, HOW WOULD YOU PRIORITIZE IT WITH ALL THOSE THINGS CONSIDERED? AND SO, UM, I APPRECIATE THE FEEDBACK AND THIS IS, WE HAVE TIME, YOU KNOW, TO GET THIS RIGHT.
UH, COMMISSIONER CHARLA, UM, COMMISSIONER CARVALHO HAS LOTS OF NOTES.
DO YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND GO, I ALMOST SAY ALL THIS STUFF.
I JUST MAKE SOME NOTES FOR MYSELF SOMETIMES.
UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY EASY TO, UH, ALMOST DISREGARD HOW MUCH WORK AND HOW COOL THIS IS.
AND IT'S SO AWESOME TO BE A PART OF IT AND HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS FOR AUSTIN AND THE MUSIC COMMUNITY AND HOW GRATEFUL WE AS MUSICIANS AND MUSIC VENUE WORKERS ARE TO, TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU WORKING AND DOING ALL THIS STUFF.
AND I KNOW SITTING HERE IS SO VALUABLE TO ME BECAUSE WE GET TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO PEOPLE WHO ARE AS SMART AND DEDICATED AS, AS Y'ALL.
UM, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF NOTES THERE.
I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST NOTES I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS THAT WHAT IT FEELS LIKE BEING HERE FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW IS THE, WE HAVE WORKING GROUPS AND THEN WE MAKE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS TO STAFF, AND THEN NOW ALL OF THIS INFORMATION CAME BACK AND, UH, IN A WAY THAT FEELS LIKE WE WERE HEARD.
AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION'S THERE.
AND MAYBE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE TO DISSECT AND THERE'S A CON CONVERSATION TO BE HAVE AFTER THIS.
BUT WOULD IT BE WILD TO THINK THAT MAYBE THERE SHOULD BE ANOTHER WORKING GROUP TO DISSECT THIS AND NOT JUST KIND OF ANSWER LIKE OFF THE CUFF, LIKE, THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION TO DISSECT, I THINK, RIGHT IN THIS MEETING.
AND IF WE CAN JUST BE LIKE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HEARING US OUT AND PUTTING ALL THIS STUFF TOGETHER.
LET'S GET THAT WORKING GROUP TOGETHER AND THEN GIVE YOU THE ANSWER THAT YOU DESERVE FOR ALL THE WORK YOU PUT INTO THIS.
BECAUSE WE HAVE TIME, BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS KIND OF DELAY THAT MAKES SENSE ON SO MANY LEVELS FOR, YOU KNOW, A BUNCH OF REASONS.
WE HAVE TIME TO DO THIS, RIGHT? SO WE WANTED TO BE SURE THAT AS MUCH OF THE FEEDBACK WAS REFLECTED AS POSSIBLE, AND IT WASN'T OUR INTENTION FOR YOU GUYS TO LIKE, GIVE US YOUR FINAL SAY TODAY.
IT'S GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, COME BACK.
MAYBE IT'S A MATTER OF ALL THE COMMISSIONERS KIND OF SCORING IT AND THEN COMING BACK TOGETHER AND COMPARING NOTES.
OR YOU COULD PULL A WORKING GROUP TOGETHER TO DO THAT.
IT'S UP TO YOU GUYS, UH, WE'RE HERE AT, YOU KNOW, FOR YOU.
YEAH, I, I THINK, YEAH, I TOTALLY AGREE.
I THINK IF, IF THE MUSIC COMMISSION COULD LIKE DISSECT THIS INFORMATION AND TAKE THE TIME, WE KIND OF NEED TO GET BACK TO IT.
AND, AND IF WE HAVE THE TIME TO HAVE THE DIALOGUE, THEN MAYBE WE CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING AT THE END OF THE DAY THAT IS MORE IN LINE WITH WHAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING FORWARD TO AND YEAH.
YOU KNOW, SERVICE OUR COMMUNITY IN THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT NOTE, THERE'S NOT MANY NOTES OUTSIDE OF IT BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO REALLY TAKE TIME TO DIGEST THIS INFORMATION AND THINK ABOUT IT AND TALK TO MY, MY PEERS AND GET BACK TO Y'ALL WITH RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND WE HAVE A SEPARATE ITEM FOR A WORKING GROUP UPDATE, SO WE CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW TO PROCEED ON THAT AT THE END OF THE MEETING ON ITEM 10.
I ALSO STARTED WORK AT LIKE SEVEN THIS MORNING, SO I DON'T KNOW WHY I AM VOLUNTEERING TO DO MORE STUFF.
YOU DO, UH, COMMISSIONER PRICE.
YOU KNOW, IF, IF I HADN'T BEEN INVOLVED IN THE WORKING GROUP OR ANY OF THIS STUFF AND JUST LOOKING AT THIS, I'D BE LIKE, I MEAN, THIS IS TO, AND IT, IT, IT IS FANTASTIC, BUT OF COURSE A LOT OF INFORMATION DISSECT, BUT THE WORK THAT YOU ALL DO IS, IT'S REALLY INCREDIBLE.
UM, HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE TO GET THIS? I KNOW YOU SAID FALL WAS WHEN THE APPLICATION WOULD LAUNCH, BUT WHEN DO YOU NEED JUST TO, I THINK THAT IF, LET'S SEE, APRIL, MAY, IF WE GET BACK IN MAY WITH SOME FINAL GUIDELINES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT BECAUSE THEN THAT WOULD GIVE US ENOUGH TIME, BECAUSE AT THE SAME TIME, WE NEED TO WORK WITH DIRECTOR MEANS ON HER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN, NOT JUST FOR MUSIC, BUT ACROSS THE OFFICE AND THE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO I NEED MORE INFORMATION FROM HER AND SHE NEEDS MORE INFORMATION FROM ALL OF US, YOU KNOW, TO KIND OF MAKE THAT DETERMINATION.
AND SO WE'RE LEARNING AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
UM, BUT I THINK IF, LET'S JUST SEE WHAT WORKS FOR YOU GUYS IS MAY REASONABLE, LIKE TO COME BACK BY THAT IT, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S ENOUGH TIME.
AND THEN OF COURSE THEN WE'LL WORK WITH THE LONG CENTER, OUR PARTNER TO BUILD OUT THOSE APPLICATIONS.
[00:50:01]
GIVE US MORE TIME TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAMS AS WELL.UM, AND SO THAT WE CAN GET SOMETHING LAUNCHED AS, AS YOU KNOW, EITHER IN TANDEM WITH CULTURAL ARTS OR MAYBE RIGHT BEFORE.
I'M NOT REALLY SURE THAT'S ONE OF THOSE, UH, TYPES OF CONSIDERATIONS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT AS A STAFF.
SO I'LL RESERVE MY NOTES FOR THAT WORKING GROUP
COMMISSIONER ALAR, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING? JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK.
UM, I'M STILL MULLING OVER THINKING, THINKING ABOUT A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE.
AND MAYBE THE WORKING GROUP IS THE BEST, UH, I THINK THE BEST WAY TO GO ABOUT THIS.
I THINK WE'RE GETTING REALLY CLOSE.
LIKE IT HAS TAKEN TIME EACH YEAR AND THINGS HAVE CHANGED COMING OUT OF COVID EVERY YEAR.
IT FEELS LIKE OUR REALITY HAS EVOLVED A LITTLE BIT.
AND SO I FEEL LIKE WE'RE KIND OF AT THAT GOOD PLACE RIGHT NOW TO GET SOME CORE GUIDELINES THAT I THINK WE CAN STICK WITH FOR SOME TIME AND NOT HAVE, I FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT WHERE THIS IS RIGHT NOW IN COLLABORATION WITH YOU ALL.
ACTUALLY, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THINGS MIGHT HAVE CHANGED SINCE COVID, MAYBE THIS PARTICULAR TYPE OF CRITERIA DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, SCORING CRITERIA DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE.
AND I THINK, I THINK EVERYONE HERE AND JUST HEARING EVERYBODY SPEAK, UH, TODAY AND, AND, AND PREVIOUS, AND YOU KNOW, HOW WE WANNA GET, WE WANNA GET THIS RIGHT AS WE WANNA GET THIS RIGHT OR AS BEST AS POSSIBLE WITHIN THE REALITY OF 2025 AND WHAT'S COMING MM-HMM
SO, UH, YEAH, I'M DEFINITELY, I'D BE EXCITED TO BE A PART OF THAT WORKING GROUP.
UH, ANYTHING ELSE FROM YEAH, GO AHEAD BALI.
UH, YEAH, JUST, UH, JUST, JUST WANTED TO, UM, UM, JUST JUST POINT OUT THAT, UH, THE WORKING GROUP RIGHT NOW, UH, THAT WAS STARTED AND CAME BACK WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS IS STILL ACTIVE.
UM, WE DIDN'T, UH, MEET ACTIVELY THIS MONTH, BUT, UH, WE CAN ALWAYS, UH, BASICALLY CONTINUE THAT WITH, WITH THIS, UH, THE DOCUMENT FROM THE, FROM STAFF AND, UH, UH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN HAVE ABOUT FIVE COMMISSIONERS IN THE MIX, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF SOME PEOPLE WANNA GO IN AND OUT OR WE WANT TO ADD JUST UP TO FIVE CAPACITY, WE COULD DO THAT AND HAVE THE CONVERSATION.
UM, BECAUSE THE, THE CURRENT FOLKS HAVE AL ALSO BEEN PART OF THE ENGAGEMENT.
SO, UM, WE COULD, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST, UH, SOME PEOPLE CAN COME IN, SOME FOLKS CAN GO OUT AND, AND HAVE THE CONVERSATION.
UM, I JUST HAD A QUESTION ON HOW MANY, DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY VENUES APPLIED LAST YEAR? SO LAST YEAR, DO YOU REMEMBER KIM, OFF THE TOP? I MEAN, I THINK IT WAS, I HAVE TO LOOK, I'LL HAVE TO JUST GO BACK.
I DON WANNA GIVE YOU THE WRONG INFORMATION.
META IT WAS, IT WAS IN THE SEVENTIES, I BELIEVE ABOUT 16 OR 17 OF THEM.
AND, AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE DEFINITION, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN USING THAT DEFINITION AS PART OF CREATIVE SPACE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
IT HELPED INFORM THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, UH, DEFINITION FOR LIVE MUSIC VENUE, PERFORMANCE VENUE.
SO WE WANNA STICK TO THAT DEFINITION.
AND THEN I ENCOURAGE YOU, IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL LIVE MUSIC VENUE CRITERIA THAT YOU THINK WOULD GET TO THE HEART OF THE CORE BUSINESSES, MUSIC BESIDES MORE THAN 50% OF THE REVENUE BEING FOR MUSIC, PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE CAN ADD THAT IN.
I DON'T WANNA DRIVE THIS OUT TOO LONG, BUT I DO HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
THE, I JUST, WHAT DOES 50% OF INCOME GENERATED FROM MUSIC EVENTS MEAN? IT MEANS LIKE, 'CAUSE YOU HAVE OTHER BUSINESSES THAT COULD ALSO BE SELLING FOOD, YOU KNOW, COFFEE SERVICE, THEY COULD HAVE OTHER THINGS HAPPENING, YOU KNOW, FOR LIKE, FOR THEIR BUSINESS MODEL MM-HMM.
THAT ISN'T JUST MUSIC RELATED.
AND SO IF THAT, IF THOSE REVENUES FROM ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT AREN'T MUSIC RELATED, YOU KNOW, ARE MORE THAN 50%, THEN YOU WOULDN'T GET THOSE ADDITIONAL POINTS TO PRIORITIZE.
WHAT WE WANNA PRIORITIZE FOR THIS GRANT PROGRAM, WHICH IS LIVE MUSIC VENUES THAT FIT THE DEFINITION, THAT THE CORE, THEIR CORE BUSINESS IS MUSIC.
IT, IT, IT'S JUST THE INCOME FOR MUSIC AS A, I'LL SPEAK FROM, FROM MY VENUE ISH MM-HMM
KIND OF, I, I'LL TRY TO GENERALIZE NOT TO SINGLE MYSELF OUT TOO HARD, BUT WHEN WE, UH, OUR REVENUE, AND I WOULDN'T CALL IT INCOME, OUR REVENUE FROM REVENUE, YES.
TICKET SALES, UH, COMPARED TO THE SALE OF ALCOHOL DURING MUSIC EVENTS, THE, THE ALCOHOL TIPS AT SCALED BY A, A DECENT AMOUNT ALCOHOL WOULD FIT INTO THAT.
SO IT'S, IT'S SALES GENERATED THROUGH YOUR MUSICAL ACTIVITIES DURING SHOWS.
AND THEN FOOD DOESN'T AND FOOD TOO, BECAUSE THE REASON WHY PEOPLE ARE THERE IS TO SEE MUSIC.
SO WE DON'T WANT TO, AND THIS IS WHAT I WAS UH, MENTIONING TO SOME OF THE WORKING GROUP MEMBERS, WE DO NOT WANNA PENALIZE ANY BUSINESS FOR DOING A GOOD JOB OF DIVERSIFYING THE REVENUE
[00:55:01]
SO THAT THEY CAN SURVIVE.I MEAN, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.
BUT LET'S SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE A BREWERY AND YOU DO MUSIC MM-HMM
LET'S JUST SAY THAT MOST, YOU COULD PROBABLY LOOK AT YOUR BALANCE SHEET AND SEE THAT MOST SALES ARE JUST COMING FROM, YOU KNOW, SELLING BEER DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S A WAY THAT WE COULD LOOK AT EXTRAPOLATING, WAS THERE MUSIC EVERY SINGLE DAY? THAT'S WHY IN THE DEFINITION, YOU SEE ONE OF THE COMPONENTS IS FIVE TO SIX DAYS A OF MUSIC A DAY OF A WEEK.
AND SO THERE ARE WAYS THAT WE, THAT'S WHY I'M THINKING THAT INSTEAD OF THAT QUESTION, OR IN ADDITION TO THAT QUESTION, HAVE SOME OTHER QUESTIONS LIKE THAT, THAT SHOW THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING MUSIC.
AND IT COULD BE ELEMENTS OF THE DEFINITION THAT YOU KIND OF DIG INTO, UH, WHETHER IT'S A BACK OF HOUSE OR YOU HAVE A PROMOTER OR YOU HAVE A SOUND ENGINEER.
UH, THERE COULD BE SOME QUESTIONS DELVING INTO THAT.
UM, DO YOU, ARE THEY ON THE PAYROLL? DO THEY WORK FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK? YOU KNOW, OR DO, DO THEY WORK LESS THAN FIVE NIGHTS A WEEK OR SOMETHING? YEAH.
SO THINK AROUND THOSE LINES OF, YOU KNOW, WHAT GOES TO THE CORE OF A VENUE AND HOW CAN WE SCORE FOR, TO PRIORITIZE VENUES THAT WHERE THEIR CORE FUNCTION IS MUSIC.
'CAUSE WE DON'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE OTHER PLACES THAT FIT THE DEFINITION THAT MAY NOT FIT EXACTLY THE PRIORITIZATION THAT THE WORKING GROUP WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
I WILL SAY I, I REALLY LIKE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POINTS HERE.
UM, I THINK A LOT OF THAT IS REALLY, ALL OF THIS IS GREAT.
UM, BUT LIKE PROVIDING FREE OR LOW COST SPACE FOR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, LIKE THAT'S HIGHLY NECESSARY.
AND I THINK, UM, MOTIVATING, YOU KNOW, FOR VENUES TO SEE IF THEY, YOU KNOW, TO HELP THEM, UH, YOU KNOW, GET THE GRANT, THEY'RE REWARDED FOR THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE LOCAL MUSICIAN PERCENTAGES, UH, A LOT OF THIS IS REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
AND, AND ALSO ON THE, ON THE ART MUSICIAN AND PROMOTER SIDE AS WELL.
SO HOW DO Y'ALL DETER? IS THERE A, HOW DO Y'ALL LOOK UP WHAT, WHAT ZIP CODES ARE IN THE QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK IN AUSTIN? KIM, DO YOU WANNA COME AND TALK ABOUT? UH, THERE'S KIM MCC CARSON PROGRAM MANAGER.
THERE'S, UM, THERE'S PUBLISHED DATA OKAY.
THAT WE LOOK AT THAT IS ACTUALLY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, AND WE CAN, UM, USE THEIR TOOL AND LOOK UP THE, UH, LOOK IT UP, YOU KNOW, BY ADDRESS MM-HMM
AND SEE IF THAT ADDRESS IS IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT.
AND SO DOES IT CHANGE LIKE WITH THE CENSUS, LIKE EVERY 10 YEARS OR DOES IT CHANGE MORE OFTEN? NO, IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT EVERY 10 YEARS.
THE, THE, THE CENSUS BUREAU OPERATES ON, YOU KNOW, EVERY DAY, EVERY YEAR.
UM, AND THEY DO OTHER STUDIES AND THEY DO, THEY DO UPDATES AND THINGS LIKE THAT, NOT JUST THE YEARS THAT THEY DO THE MAJOR CENSUS.
THAT'S A WHOLE BIG ROLLOUT IN ITSELF.
BUT ON THOSE OTHER YEARS, DURING THE OTHER TIMES, THEY'RE ALWAYS, THEY'RE DOING ALL KINDS OF REPORTING AND UPDATING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND SO QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT, WE DID CHECK ON THIS QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACT IS SOMETHING THAT THEY REGULARLY UPDATE ANNUALLY.
UM, JUST BECAUSE OF THE WAY, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS IN AUSTIN.
UM, I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS SOME OF OUR AREAS HAVE BECOME REALLY GENTRIFIED AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALSO HAD MUSICIANS MOVE, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS TO OTHER AREAS.
SO IT'S REALLY GOOD TO HAVE THAT, UM, REC, YOU KNOW, REFLECT CURRENT DATA.
UM, BUT YEAH, SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE, UH, IS QUESTION THOSE TWO, THOSE THREE QUESTIONS.
AND I OH, LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT ONE.
WE'VE GOT TAMMY BLEVINS, COMMISSIONER BLEVINS ONLINE.
UM, JUST SPEAKING ABOUT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE BULLET POINT ABOUT FOLKS LIVING IN A QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACK, MY, AND I DON'T WANNA OPEN UP A CAN OF WORMS HERE, BUT HERE IT GOES.
UM, ONE OF MY CONCERNS IS THAT BECAUSE SO MANY MUSICIANS HAVE HAD TO MU MOVE OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN BECAUSE OF AFFORDABILITY, THAT AS LONG AS THEY ARE PROMOTING TOURISM WITHIN AUSTIN AND PERFORMING IN AUSTIN, HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT THEY ACTUALLY LIVE IN THAT CENSUS TRACK? IF THERE ARE, IS THERE A RADIUS OR SOMETHING? BECAUSE SOME OF 'EM JUST CAN'T AFFORD TO LIVE HERE ANYMORE, ACTUALLY, AND THAT COULD EXCLUDE YEAH, SO THE ELIGIBILITY IS THEY HAVE TO LIVE WITHIN THE FIVE COUNTY MSA, WHICH IS THE METRO STATISTICAL JURISDICTION OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO IT'S THE ENTIRE FIVE COUNTY METRO AREA.
AND SO WHERE PEOPLE ARE MOVING TO, TO SAVE MONEY IS ENCAPSULATED
[01:00:01]
IN THE MSA.SO QUALIFIED CENSUS TRACKS CAN BE OVERLAID ON THE MSA AND CHANGE ANNUALLY BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE REPORTING THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RECEIVES.
SO IT, IT SHIFTS ACROSS THE MSA.
AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION IS TO NAGAS, UM, EARLIER POINT ABOUT, UM, FOLKS, UH, MUSICIANS WHO APPLY FOR A GRANT, IT'S FOR TWO YEARS AND THEN THEY HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THAT TWO YEARS BEFORE THEY CAN APPLY AGAIN, THAT THEY MIGHT BE KIND OF ON A ROLL WHERE THEY'RE REALLY MAKING SOME PROGRESS.
AND, AND THAT CAN BE, UM, QUITE DISRUPTIVE THAT MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING FOR THE WORKING GROUP THAT, YOU KNOW, AT THE, IF THEY DO, IF THEY CAN, UM, GO AHEAD AND APPLY AGAIN THE NEXT YEAR, THEY WOULD NOT RECEIVE THAT UNTIL THE END OF THEIR FIRST TWO YEAR.
GRANT, IF THEY WERE AWARDED IT AGAIN, UH, EACH YEAR, EVEN THOUGH IT'S, IT'S A TWO YEAR, EACH GRANT BUDGET IS FOR ONE FISCAL YEAR.
SO WE DELEGATE THE TWO YEAR GRANT BUDGET FROM ONE FISCAL YEAR OF COLLECTIONS.
SO IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO SPREAD THAT PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, YOU KNOW, IN THAT WAY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO WE REALLY WANNA STICK TO, HERE'S THE FISCAL YEAR.
THIS IS THE BUDGET FOR IN, FOR FY 25, IT'S $4.8 MILLION, AND WE KNOW WHAT AWARDEES WE HAVE FOR FY 25 ATTACHED TO THAT.
IT'LL BE VERY DIFFICULT TO GET AWARDED ONE YEAR FROM A FISCAL YEAR AND NOT USE IT UNTIL MAYBE TWO FISCAL YEARS LATER.
I CAN JUST TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, THE CITY WON'T BE HAPPY WITH THAT
SO, UM, WE TRY TO KIND OF KEEP THOSE AWARDEES WITHIN THE FISCAL YEAR THAT THEY'RE AWARDED.
UM, AND THE REASON WHY WE KEPT IN THE, UM, POINTS IS KIND OF BONUS POINTS FOR NEVER RECEIVING THE FUND IS BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY APPLICANTS WHEN YOU HAVE OVER A THOUSAND APPLICANTS, UM, IT'S JUST ONE TOOL THAT WE HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR, UH, DIFFERENT FOLKS TO GET FUNDED AT ANY ONE TIME.
SO, AND, AND NOT TO SAY THAT YOU CAN'T GET FUNDED AGAIN, WE DID HAVE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT RECEIVE THE BONUS POINTS, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY, WITH THE FIRST ROLLOUT, GOT THE SECOND ROLLOUT.
SO I'M WILLING TO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND.
THERE'S, IT'S A STATISTICS GAME, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THOSE BONUS POINTS.
UH, IS THAT, I THINK THAT'S EVERYBODY, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
YEAH, JUST, JUST SOME, UH, QUICK COMMENTS ON, ON THE VENUES.
I THINK THE, THE DISCUSSION WAS AROUND, UM, UM, BASICALLY BECAUSE THOSE FUNDS ARE SO LIMITED, THE, THE IDEA WAS TO KIND OF MAKE THE, THE, THE THRESHOLD FOR ENTRY KIND OF MORE STRICT AND, AND ESSENTIALLY, UH, LIMIT THAT TO VENUES THAT TRULY QUALIFY, UM, AS A LIVE MUSIC VENUE AND KIND OF SET CRITERIA AROUND IT.
AND THAT'S WHERE THAT WAS COMING FROM VERSUS HAVING THAT BE A PART OF, YOU KNOW, ANYONE CAN APPLY, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, THEN, THEN THE BURDEN OF PROOF COMES IN LATER IN THE QUESTIONS AND IT'S A CODE QUESTION.
UH, SO I THINK THERE WAS, THAT WAS KIND OF, THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO GO ABOUT IT AND HAVE, HAVE IT AS A CODE QUESTION AND THEN JUST GIVE IT A CERTAIN WEIGHTAGE AND, AND GO WITH THAT VERSUS HAVE A STRICT CRITERIA TO WHERE YOU CAN OR CANNOT APPLY BASED ON WHETHER YOU QUALIFY AS A LIVE MUSIC VENUE BASED ON THAT CRITERIA.
AND WE WERE LEANING TOWARDS, UH, THE SECOND ONE BECAUSE OF HOW LIMITED THOSE FUNDS ARE, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE, THE TRULY, YOU KNOW, LIVE MUSIC VENUES, UM, TILL AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT IF THE GRANT, IF THE DOLLARS EXPAND AND THERE'S A MUCH BIGGER BUCKET TO GET THE GRANTS FROM, UM, THE, UM, IT, IT'S, IT'S, SO WHEN IT, WHEN IT COMES TO, I MEAN, WHEN WE ARE USING THINGS LIKE ECONOMIC INDICATORS, ET CETERA, THE, THE GOAL THERE WAS ESSENTIALLY ALSO TO KIND OF YEAH.
BUILD, BUILD EQUITY, RIGHT? AND THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING I THINK, YOU KNOW, UH, THERE'S A BROAD DESIRE EVEN AT THE COMMISSION TO HAVE THESE GRANTS BE EQUITABLE.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY ARGUMENT AGAINST THAT.
UM, WHAT WHAT I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE IS, IS IN RESPONSE TO THE BILLS THAT ARE COMING IN FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL, UM, IN RESPONSE TO WHAT CITY LEGAL HAD ADVISED US COUPLE OF YEARS BACK ALREADY, UM, ON WHAT CHARACTERISTICS WE CAN CANNOT USE, ET CETERA, JUST PARAMETERS AROUND HAVING EQUITY.
AND I KNOW THAT USING ECONOMIC INDICATORS, THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO GO AGAINST ANYTHING THAT'S, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ANY OF THE BILLS AND ALL THAT ARE BEING PUT FORWARD.
UM, BUT WHAT I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE IS, IS, UH,
[01:05:02]
A, UH, A CRITERIA TO HAVE EQUITY, UM, COMING FROM THE, THE CITY AND THIS OFFICE ACROSS THE BOAT, RIGHT? SO WE ARE NOT MAYBE AT LEAST AS A STARTING POINT, DOING IT ONE WAY FOR MUSIC, ONE WAY FOR US, ONE WAY, SOME OTHER WAY FOR SOMETHING ELSE.AND THEN ONCE WE HAVE THAT AVAILABLE TO US, MAYBE HAVE US RESPOND TO WHAT IN THIS WORKS WELL FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
AND THERE MIGHT BE SOME THINGS NOW THAT ARE UNIQUE TO THIS SECTOR THAT, YOU KNOW, IT MAY WORK FOR ARTS, BUT IT MAY NOT WORK FOR THE MUSIC INDUSTRY BECAUSE THESE ARE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH.
ONE IS VERY, UM, NOT ENTIRELY, BUT THERE IS A CERTAIN NONPROFIT CENTER IN THE ARTS, WHEREAS HERE, IT'S, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY PRIVATE ENTERPRISE.
SO, UM, AND I THINK WE CAN THEN GIVE SOME MORE REACTION TO SPECIFICS AROUND WHAT, WHAT PART OF THAT COULD AND COULD NOT APPLY.
BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE A GENERAL DIRECTION IN HOW, WHETHER IT'S QCT OR ECONOMIC OR ECONOMIC INDICATORS IN BROADLY ON HOW THE DEPARTMENT WOULD LIKE TO APPROACH THIS MM-HMM
OR THE CITY AS WE, AS THESE THINGS EVOLVE OVER THIS NEXT YEAR.
UM, AND THEN, YEAH, THAT'S A GOOD RECOMMENDATION.
UM, AND WE'LL WORK WITH DIRECTOR MEANS AND THE REST OF THE, THE NEW TEAM WITHIN THE OFFICE AND THE NEW DEPARTMENT, UH, TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME GUIDANCE ON SOME ACROSS THE BOARD TYPE OF EVALUATION AROUND THAT.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A VERY, YOU KNOW, I AGREE THAT IT CAN BE CONFUSING IF CERTAIN PROGRAMS DO IT THIS WAY AND OTHER PROGRAMS DO IT THAT WAY.
UM, JUST ONE COMMENT ON THE LIVE MUSIC VENUE DEFINITION.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN USING THAT DEF DEFINITION FOR QUITE, FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND YOU'RE GONNA FIND VENUES THAT CONSIDER THEMSELVES VENUES THAT FIT THE DEFINITION.
IT'S FIVE OF SEVEN KIND OF THINGS.
AND WE WENT THROUGH A LONG PROCESS OF CREATING THAT DEFINITION THAT WILL FIT THE DEFINITION, BUT HAVE OVER THE YEARS PIVOTED TO A BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS IN ORDER TO SURVIVE.
YOU ALSO WILL FIND VENUES THAT MAY BE OPENED UP AS SOMETHING ELSE, BUT THEN ADDED ALL THE CAPACITY TO FIT THE DEFINITION AND MAY NOT USE IT ALL THE TIME.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE RECOMMENDING IT'S GONNA BE TOO DIFFICULT ON AN ELIGIBILITY LEVEL FOR US TO EVALUATE THAT APPLICANT BY APPLICANT.
IT'S ALMOST, IT'S A VERY HIGH BAR FROM AN JUST TO SEE WHO'S ELIGIBLE AND WHO'S NOT.
I WOULD RATHER PUT THE ONUS BACK ON THE APPLICANT TO PROVE THOSE SCORED POINTS TO PROVE THAT MUSIC IS THE FOCUS OF THEIR BUSINESS, BECAUSE THEN THEY CAN PROVIDE VERY SPECIFIC THINGS.
THEY'RE ASKED, HOW DO YOU DO THIS? AND THEN THEY CAN PROVIDE SOMETHING AND GET POINTS FOR IT, AND THEN WE'RE PRIORITIZING THAT.
I'M JUST RISK AVERSE TO DEVIATING FROM THIS, UH, DEFINITION WE'VE USED FOR QUITE SOME TIME THAT WAS DEVELOPED OVER A COURSE OF A COUPLE YEARS WITH THE WORKING GROUP BACK IN 20 17, 18.
SO, UM, SO JUST KEEP THAT IN MIND.
YOU KNOW, WE STILL NEED TO BE ABLE TO EFFICIENTLY, YOU KNOW, EVALUATE THESE APPLICATIONS.
AND SO THAT'S WHY I SCORED, UH, YOU KNOW, SCORED QUESTIONS AROUND MUSIC BEING THE FOCAL POINT WOULD BE MORE HELPFUL FOR EVALUATORS.
WELL, WE'LL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THIS AND WE'LL ALSO TALK ABOUT HOW THE, HOW THE WORKING GROUP CAN HAVE A MECHANISM FOR GATHERING FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMISSIONERS AND THE COMMUNITY TO, AND THEN PASS THAT ON TO STAFF.
[5. Rally Austin's Annual Report on FY24 including an update on Cultural Trust activities to date as well as an early preview of programs to be considered in the 2026 Bond package by Anne Gatling Haynes, Chief Transactions Officer and Theresa Alvarez, Chief Executive Officer, Rally Austin; Emmett Beliveau, Chief Operating Officer, C3 Presents; and Meghan Wells, Special Liaison for Economic Development, Financial Services Department. ]
UH, WE HAVE RALEIGH AUSTIN HERE, AND, UH, WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT, UH, FISCAL YEAR 24 ANNUAL REPORT, INCLUDING CULTURAL TRUST UPDATE, AND, UM, WE'LL BE TALK ALSO, WE HAVE A PO POTENTIAL BOND PACKAGE COMING UP IN 2026.SO WE HAVE, UH, THERESA ALVAR, THERESA ALVAREZ, UH, CEO RALLY AUSTIN HERE, AND ALSO EMMETT VO, UH, WHO'S ON THE BOARD.
AND HE'S, UH, ALSO PART OF C3 PRESENTS.
AND I THINK ANN IS ANN'S GONNA, ANN HANS, UH, IS GONNA JOIN US ONLINE.
SO YEAH, THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONERS FOR HAVING, UM, RALLY AUSTIN HERE TONIGHT.
AS, UM, ANN CHARLOTTE MENTIONED, I'M JOINED BY TWO OF MY COLLEAGUES, UH, VICE CHAIR OF THE BOARD, UM, EMMETT BEVO, UM, AND ANN HAYNES IS VIRTUAL, UM, TONIGHT.
AND SO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO, WE'RE NOT GONNA RUN THROUGH ALL THE SLIDES OF OUR ANNUAL REPORT, BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU, UM, SOME HIGH LEVEL, UM, UH, GO OVER SOME HIGH LEVEL SLIDES.
EMMETT'S GONNA GIVE AN UPDATE ON HIS, UH, BOARD POSITION, SO HE'LL COME UP AS WELL.
SO I THINK WE CAN GO TO THE FIRST, UM, SLIDE.
UM, AND, AND I'LL START BY SAYING THAT WE HAVE JUST FINISHED PRESENTING THIS ANNUAL REPORT, UM, TO THE CITY MANAGER,
[01:10:01]
TO EACH COUNCIL OFFICE, UM, AND THE MAYOR'S OFFICE AS WELL.AND SO WE'VE NOW, THIS MONTH, WE'LL BE SHARING WITH, UM, UH, THE COMMISSIONS THAT ARE REPRESENTED ON OUR, OUR BOARD AS WELL.
SO, UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, RALLY AUSTIN IS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION AND A 5 0 1 C3.
AND SO, UM, THIS JUST REMINDER TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH US, OUR MISSION AND VISION, UM, IS REALLY FOCUSED ON AFFORDABILITY.
AND THEN WE'VE BROKEN OUT, UM, THE THREE AREAS THAT WORK THAT WE'RE WORKING IN, OBVIOUSLY, UM, ARTS, MUSIC, AND CULTURE.
I'M JUST SURE WHAT YOU ARE MOST, UM, MOST INTERESTED IN.
THE, THIS IS THE, UM, BOARD REPRESENTATIVES, AND OF COURSE, EMMETT REPRESENTS THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
UM, WE HAVE THE CITY OF AUSTIN UP THERE, BUT WE ALSO BROKE OUT.
THERE'S SEVEN CITY OF AUSTIN REPRESENTATIVES INCLUDING MUSIC, COMMISSION, ARTS, HISTORIC LANDMARK, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE FOUR CITY DIRECTORS WHO SERVE ON OUR BOARD, ALONG WITH THE OTHER, UM, LOGOS THAT YOU SEE UP THERE.
SO I THINK EMMETT, IF YOU WANNA, UM, COME UP, TALK ABOUT YOUR, UM, VICE CHAIR POSITION, WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO HAVE, UM, EMMETT SERVING, UM, AS VICE CHAIR ON OUR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND WE'LL BE OUR CHAIR NEXT YEAR.
UM, I, I KNOW MOST OF YOU, BUT THERE'S A FEW, UH, NEWER FAMILIAR FACES UP THERE, SO I WANTED TO COME BY AND, AND, AND SAY HELLO.
UM, IT'S BEEN, GOSH, FOUR, FOUR YEARS SINCE, UM, THE MUSIC COMMISSION, UH, FIRST ASKED ME TO, TO REPRESENT THIS COMMUNITY ON, UM, WHAT WAS THEN CALLED THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
ONE OF THE MANY THINGS THAT THE TEAM HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THESE FIRST FEW YEARS IS A, IS A, A EXCITING REBRAND AS, AS RALLY AUSTIN.
THE SLIDE YOU SEE HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE CURRENT BOARD.
UM, AS TODAY'S I MENTIONED, SEVEN OF, OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD ARE AFFILIATED IN SOME WAY WITH THE CITY, EITHER WORK FOR A CITY DEPARTMENT, UM, OR HAVE BEEN NOMINATED BY A, A CITY BOARD OR COMMISSION AS I WAS, UM, OVER THOSE LAST COUPLE YEARS, WHICH REALLY WAS BEING A PART OF A STARTUP.
THERE, THERE WERE NO STAFF, UH, WHEN THE A EDC WORK CREATED, AND YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN ALONG FOR THE RIDE.
UM, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME IMPORTANT MILESTONES AND SOME IMPORTANT EARLY WINS IN THOSE FIRST FEW YEARS, INCLUDING, UM, THE FUNDING TOTALING ALMOST $4 MILLION TO TWO MUSIC VENUES TO HOLE IN THE WALL AND EMPIRE CONTROL ROOM.
SO WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE, THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS, UM, IN THE REST OF THE UPDATE THAT AM WILL GIVE.
BUT I DID WANT TO TOUCH, UM, JUST ON, ON, ON MY PATH, UH, THROUGH RALLY AUSTIN.
I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF, OF SERVING AS TREASURER, UH, THIS YEAR AS TODAY, AS I MENTIONED, AS AS VICE CHAIR.
UM, THIS YEAR WILL BE THE END OF MY FIRST FULL THREE YEAR TERM IN SEPTEMBER OF 25.
SO IF YOU ALL ARE GOOD WITH IT, UM, I'LL ROLL INTO ONE MORE, UH, WHICH WILL ALLOW ME TO SERVE AS CHAIR OF RALLY AUSTIN, UH, NEXT YEAR AND CONTINUE ON THE EXECUTIVE BOARD.
UM, AND THEN ONE YEAR AS, UM, IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR, I GUESS, SO TWO MORE YEARS ON THE EXECUTIVE, UM, COMMITTEE.
AND THEN WE WILL, WE WILL ROLL OFF THE BOARD AND, UH, AND WE CAN GO THROUGH THIS ALL AGAIN.
UM, I WILL JUST SAY THAT IN ADDITION TO WHAT I'LL CALL THESE EARLY WINS, UM, REAL DOLLARS MOVING OUT TO FUND, UM, ICONIC VENUES AND, AND, AND IN GROUPS THAT WE CARE DEEPLY ABOUT.
PART OF THE WORK THAT'S HAPPENED OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS, FOUR YEARS IS THE IDENTIFICATION AND, AND CATALOGING OF JUST A TREMENDOUS UNMET NEED.
UM, YOU GUYS DON'T NEED TO HEAR THAT FROM ME OR FROM ANYONE ELSE, BUT I WILL SAY AT ANY CHANCE WE, WE GET THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR FLEXIBLE FUNDING SOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT RALLY AUSTIN CAN CONTINUE TO, TO DO THEIR WORK.
YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ABOUT SOME OPTIONS, UM, IN THE FUTURE ON THAT, BUT I KNOW WE ARE ALL PARTNERS ON THAT.
UM, AND IT'S AMAZING WHAT THEY HAVE DONE WITH THE LIMITED RESOURCES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO RALLY AUSTIN IN THE FIRST COUPLE YEARS.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL STEP BACK, LET THEM RUN THROUGH THE DECK, BUT I'M, I'M HAPPY TO, TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION OR ANSWER QUESTIONS AS WE GO.
UM, I HOPE YOU'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THE MUSIC COMMISSION, UH, REPRESENTED ON EXECUTIVE COMMISSION, UH, EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, EMMETT, WE'RE SUPER HAPPY TO HAVE YOU, UM, AS OUR VICE CHAIR CURRENTLY.
UM, WE CREATED THIS SLIDE, UM, FOR NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS AND NEW COMMISSIONERS WHO MAY BE NOT FAMILIAR WITH RALLY AUSTIN, AND REMINDING PEOPLE THAT FROM 2014 TO 2020, THE CITY SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY BEFORE CREATING, UM, AUSTIN EDC, WHICH IS NOW RALLY AUSTIN.
UM, AND LOOKED AT MODELS AROUND THE COUNTRY OF OTHER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COM UH, CORPORATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL, WE'RE DOING SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN MODELED IN OTHER CITIES BEFORE.
UM, AND THEN WE JUST CREATED THE TIMELINE OUT.
I'M NOT GONNA READ EVERYTHING OUT AND YOU GUYS HAVE A PACKET IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT WHERE YOU SEE THE BLUE ICONS, THAT IS WHERE WE TOOK A CULTURAL TRUST, UH, PROJECT TO CITY COUNCIL FOR A VOTE.
AND THEN, UM, THE GREEN, UM, ICON
[01:15:01]
THAT YOU SEE IN 2024, THIS WAS AN ITEM WE TOOK ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT, UH, FOR EAST 11TH, WELL, WHICH ALSO INCLUDES A CULTURAL, UH, CULTURAL TRUST, UM, COMPONENT OR CULTURAL, UH, VENUE, HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE.UM, BUT WE APPROVED, THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE URBAN RENEWAL, UM, RECOMMENDATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM IN JULY OF 2024.
UM, SO WE JUST, YOU KNOW, WE PUT THIS TOGETHER AS A, AS A REMINDER OF THE HISTORY, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR, FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR, UH, WITH RALLY AUSTIN.
AND THEN THE NEXT SLIDE, WE, WE BROKE OUT THOSE THREE COMPONENTS, AND THIS IS WHAT, UM, ANN IS GONNA WALK US THROUGH, UM, AS A REMINDER AND LEADS OUR REAL ESTATE, UM, TEAM.
AS EMMETT SAID IN THE BEGINNING, WE, WE HAD NO STAFF AND, UM, WE'VE INCREASED.
AND, UM, IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT, WE'VE, UM, DETAILED OUT, WE NOW HAVE A THREE PERSON REAL ESTATE AND A THREE PERSON OPERATIONS TEAM.
UM, SO WE'VE GROWN THE ORGANIZATION.
BUT ANN, ARE YOU, UM, CAN WE HEAR YOU ONLINE? I THINK SO.
I'M GONNA HAVE ANN, UM, GO THROUGH, THROUGH THE NEXT SLIDES ABOUT OUR PROJECTS, AND EMMETT AND I WILL BE HERE FOR QUESTIONS.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT ON THE AGENDA TODAY, SO I'M GONNA BE PRETTY QUICK GOING THROUGH A NUMBER OF SLIDES, AND I HOPE YOU CAN HEAR ME.
AND I'M SORRY I CAN'T BE WITH YOU IN PERSON, BUT I'M FIGHTING A COLD, UM, ON EAST 11TH STREET, WE HAVE TWO BLOCKS THAT ARE PART OF THE HISTORIC AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL AND HERITAGE DISTRICT.
UH, THE URBAN RENEWAL BOARD OWNS THE LAND.
WE FACILITATED AN RFP, UH, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO AND SELECTED A DEVELOPER LAST SUMMER, UH, PHC PLEASANT HEALTH COLLABORATIVE, UM, WHICH IS ACTUALLY A GROUP OF MULTIPLE DEVELOPERS COMING TOGETHER AROUND A COMMUNITY VISION OF, I CALL IT HYPER MIXED USE, BUT IT HAS, UH, AFFORDABLE COMMERCIAL SPACE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AS WELL AS, UH, CULTURAL SPACE.
ON THE TWO BLOCK, WE ARE JUST AT THE BEGINNING OF AN 18 MONTH EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATING AGREEMENT WITH THE DEVELOPERS AND THE URBAN RENEWAL BOARD, AND MONTHLY AT THE URBAN RENEWAL BOARD, UH, THIS PROJECT, YOU'LL CONTINUE TO HEAR UPDATES AND OPEN HOUSES AS WE GO, BUT IT REALLY IS INFUSED WITH CULTURE, ARTS AND MUSIC.
UM, UH, HAROLD MCMILLAN, PART OF KENNY DURHAM, UH, BACKYARD, UH, CREATIVE CULTURE WORKS, IS A PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM.
SO HE IS DEFINITELY IN, IN PUTTING, I VIEWING HIS VISION, UH, INTO THIS PROJECT.
THIS IS A REAL QUICK RUNDOWN, AS WE DID FOR THE ANNUAL REPORT.
THIS IS NOT ALL OF THE PROJECTS, IT'S NEARLY ALL OF THE PROJECTS, BUT EFFECTIVELY, UM, IN, WE'VE MADE ABOUT AN $11 MILLION INVESTMENT, UM, WHICH ACTUALLY WE BELIEVE IS VALUED AT ABOUT 24.2 MILLION, WHICH INCLUDES THE PROPERTY VALUE AS WELL AS OUR INVESTMENT ITSELF, AND ANY UPGRADES OR CONSTRUCTION THAT'S GOING TO BE HAPPENING.
UM, AND WITH KIND OF TYPICAL ECONOMIC INDICATORS, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS PROBABLY AN ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BETWEEN 48 AND 60 MILLION.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS REALLY MORE OF A, BASED ON A, A GENERAL, UM, INCREASING, UM, TYPE ECONOMIC IMPACT.
BUT WITH FUTURE EFFORTS, WE'D REALLY LIKE TO DRILL INTO WHAT THAT ACTUALLY MEANS IN TERMS OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
UM, AND I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THE FULL PORTFOLIO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES.
UM, BUT I'M GOING TO, I THINK, AND THIS JUST BASICALLY PROVIDES IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT WHERE THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS ARE LOCATED.
AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE BLOCK 16 AND 18 IS, WHICH IS ONE OF OUR
THAT TYPE OF PROJECT BLOCK 16 AND 18 IS ACTUALLY A PRIMARY REASON HOW, UM, RALLY AUSTIN WAS CREATED TO HELP FACILITATE PUBLIC BENEFIT AND AFFORDABILITY ON PUBLICLY OWNED LAND.
UM, THE, THE REMAINDER OF THE PORTFOLIO, WHICH ARE THE ARTS, MUSIC, AND CULTURE INVESTMENTS, ARE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE CULTURAL TRUST IN A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FORMS. UM, SO I'M GONNA KEEP GOING.
I THINK, UM, IT GOES INTO MORE DETAIL IN THE CULTURAL TRUST AND BECAUSE I KNEW THERE MIGHT BE SOME NEW COMMISSIONERS, I DID A LITTLE BIT OF A RECAP OF HOW WE GOT HERE, BUT SINCE MANY OF YOU ALL DO KNOW THIS, I'M GONNA GO EXTREMELY QUICKLY.
AND CERTAINLY THIS IS BACKUP INFORMATION THAT I'M HAPPY TO JUMP INTO A CONVERSATION WITH FOLKS IN THE FUTURE.
BUT REALLY, YOU, IF THIS ALL STARTED WITH THE COMMISSIONS ARTS AND MUSIC COMMISSIONS, IT STARTED WITH ADVOCACY, UH, FROM IMAGINE AUSTIN ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE LAUNCH OF THE A EDC WITH THE ASSIGNMENT TO REALLY MOVE THE CULTURAL TRUST FORWARD.
IT'S BEEN A REALLY LONG PROCESS AND COMMUNITY ADVOCACY IS REALLY AT THE HEART OF THAT.
WE ARE CERTAINLY, WE'VE LEARNED A LOT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, AND I'M GONNA GO THROUGH OUR TIMELINE.
I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER MY SEQUENCE HERE, BUT, UM, REALLY THE GOAL WAS TO BOTH FACILITATE PRESERVATION OF EXISTING AS WELL AS THE CREATION OF NEW FACILITIES FOR ARTS, MUSIC, AND CULTURE.
[01:20:01]
IT WAS QUITE BROAD BY DESIGN.UH, WE REALLY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE NEEDS WERE AND BE ABLE TO PROVIDE NOT JUST INITIAL INVESTMENTS WITH THE CULTURAL TRUST FUNDS, BUT ALSO A SUSTAINING PIPELINE OF WHAT WE NOW KNOW AS SIGNIFICANT NEED.
UM, WE DO HAVE A CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS AN OPEN COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD.
THIS IS A FAIRLY OLD PHOTOGRAPH FROM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.
UH, WE DO HAVE REPRESENTATION OF ARTS, MUSIC AND CULTURE.
AND, UH, FOUR OF OUR BOARD MEMBERS SIT ON THIS COMMITTEE AS WELL.
THIS COMMITTEE WORKED QUITE A BIT DURING THE RFP PERIOD, WHICH I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A SECOND.
UM, BUT ALSO CONTINUES TO WORK WITH US, AND ESPECIALLY WHILE WE'RE WORKING WITH US AS WE REFINE THE CULTURAL TRUST GUIDELINES IN THE FUTURE, AS WELL AS THE BOND PROPOSAL, WHICH WE'LL GET TO AT THE END OF THIS NEXT ONE.
UM, JUST REALLY SHORT RECAP, THE INITIAL CULTURAL TRUST WAS LAUNCHED WITH THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUNDING FROM THE CITY, INCLUDING THE 2018 CREATIVE SPACES BOND FUND OF 12 MILLION FROM THE 2018 BOND ELECTION.
SOME HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAX, ICONIC VENUE DOLLARS, WHICH WERE HISTORIC PRESERVATION, AS WELL AS CITY OF AUSTIN GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
THAT HAS BEEN REALLY CONSTITUTING OUR INITIAL ROUND OF INVESTMENTS.
NEXT ONE, UM, THIS IS THE SAME MILESTONE DOCUMENT THAT YOU SAW BEFORE, BUT I ADDED BUBBLES THAT HAD REALLY MORE TO DO WITH THE PROCESS WE WENT THROUGH ON THE CULTURAL TRUST.
UM, THE, THE DOLLARS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PROJECT BY 2020.
UH, THERE ACTUALLY WAS AN ARTS AND MUSIC JOINT COMMISSION SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I BELIEVE WAS 2021.
THAT WAS PART OF THE ORIGINAL WRITING OF THE RFP.
THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL WENT OUT IN THE END OF 2021.
WE RECEIVED IT IN 2022, AND ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING FROM THAT INITIAL, UH, CALL FOR PROPOSALS, GO TO THE NEXT ONE, AND YOU WOULD, WITH ALL THE EMERGENCIES OUT THERE, WE ALL WISH WE COULD GO A LOT FASTER AND HAD A LOT MORE FLEXIBLE DOLLARS INTO WHAT EMMETT SAID.
UH, FLEXIBLE DOLLARS IS THE KEY GOING FORWARD, BUT THERE WERE 45 SUBMISSIONS PLUS ANOTHER 16 REQUESTING TO BE ON THE, UM, THE PIPELINE.
UH, BUT 45 SUBMISSIONS, WE, IN ABOUT SIX TO NINE MONTHS, WE ACTUALLY HAD CREATED A LONG LIST, WE CALL IT, OF 14 ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAD APPLIED OUT OF 45 SUBMISSIONS.
THERE WAS ABOUT $350 MILLION OF NEED.
AND OF COURSE, WITH 19.4 MILLION, WE COULD ONLY EVER INVEST IN WHAT WE HAD HOPED WAS TWO TO SIX PROJECTS.
AND YOU WILL SEE NOW THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ALREADY AT SIX PROJECTS WITH SEVEN ORGAN, SEVEN LEAD ORGANIZATIONS.
MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WILL BE SUPPORTED BY THE PROJECTS, AND WE ARE CERTAINLY, UM, STILL HOPING TO LAND, UH, ONE TO TWO MORE WITH THE INITIAL TRANCHE OF FUNDING.
SO THIS IS OUR PORTFOLIO, AND IT'S EXCITING TO AT LEAST BE AT THIS PLACE WHERE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STRETCH THE DOLLARS ACROSS MULTIPLE PLACES, BOTH THE BUILDING OF NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, THE RENOVATION OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THE CREATION OF NEW, UH, INFRA, I'M SORRY, THE PRESERVATION OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, AND WE REALLY HAVE WORKED WITH EACH PROJECT AND EACH NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION AND TRIED TO REALLY MISSION FIT THE TYPE OF INVESTMENT TO THE ACTUAL PROJECT NEEDS.
AND ALSO WITH THE DOLLARS THAT WE HAVE, THE WAY THOSE DOLLARS HAVE TO BE USED WITHIN A REAL ESTATE DEAL STRUCTURE.
SO EACH PROJECT IS ACTUALLY QUITE UNIQUE.
UM, WE NOW FEEL THAT WE'VE GOT A RANGE OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN ENGAGE AND HOPEFULLY SECURE, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE, CULTURAL ARTS AND MUSIC INFRASTRUCTURE.
ALL OF THESE PROJECTS ARE 20 TO 40 YEAR LONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH THESE SPACES AND THESE ORGANIZATIONS, THESE ARE NOT, UM, THESE ARE DIFFICULT SOMETIMES FOUR PARTY NEGOTIATIONS TO GET TO A FINAL AGREEMENT.
UM, AND WE DO KNOW THAT RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE NOT BEING ABLE TO SERVE ARE THE EMERGENCIES THAT WE'RE HEARING ABOUT ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
SO WE, WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT GOING FORWARD, LOOKING FOR CREATIVE TOOLS WHERE WE CAN BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO IMMEDIATE NEEDS AS WELL.
AND SO, UM, I WILL JUST SAY THAT FROM CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION, THE PLAYHOUSE AND MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT AND PDC, OUR CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION, PRIMARILY WITH BOND FUNDS, MILLENNIUM IS A RENOVATION OF THE EXISTING MILLENNIUM THEATER SPACE.
THAT CONSTRUCTION IS ACTUALLY ALMOST COMPLETE.
I BELIEVE THEY ARE CLOSE TO HAVING THE FINAL SEAT, BUT YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO SEE THE WORK IN PRO PROGRESS AT THE MILLENNIUM YOUTH CENTER.
UM, AND THEN HOLE IN THE WALL, UH, WAS AN INVESTMENT IN CAPITAL PROJECT IMPROVEMENT TO INCREASE THEIR REVENUE TO BE ABLE TO STAY IN PLACE FOR A 20 YEAR
[01:25:01]
LEASE.AND EMPIRE WAS OUR FIRST AND PILOT LOAN WHERE WE ACTUALLY LOANED FUNDING TO EMPIRE TO ACQUIRE ONE OF THE TWO PARCELS.
THEY ALREADY OWNED ONE OF THEM, AND THEY WILL BE DOING A, AN, UH, CONSTRUCTION PROJECT TO INCREASE THEIR CAPACITY.
NEXT ONE, UM, JUST REALLY BRIEFLY, WE WILL BE COMING OUT WITH MORE DATA ON THIS, BUT WE DID RELEASE A AFFORDABILITY SURVEY, UM, TO BOTH VENUES, SPACES THAT RENT SPACES AND RENTERS THAT RENT SPACES.
AND PRIMARILY THIS WAS TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THE LOCAL MARKET AND ESPECIALLY PRACTICES BY HOW PEOPLE RENT SPACE AND WHAT ARE RENTERS FINDING IN TERMS OF THAT RENTAL SPACE.
I WILL SAY THAT THIS WAS A COLLABORATION WITH, UM, WITH FROM THE CULTURAL TRUST ADVISORY COMMITTEE WITH, UH, IN, UH, A TX THEATER AND WITH, UH, CREATIVE POLICY, UH, WHO HAS BEEN WORKING AS A CONSULTANT TO, UM, TO THE, TO RALLY AUSTIN, UM, AS WELL AS MEGAN WELLS, WHO I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S IN THE AUDIENCE OR NOT, BUT HAS BEEN NAMED OUR LIAISON BETWEEN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND RALLY AUSTIN, AND HAS BEEN A GREAT HELP TO RALLY AUSTIN.
IT'S ALREADY TAKING A LONG TIME TO DISSECT AND DELINEATE ALL OF THE FINDINGS.
WE ARE OVERWHELMED WITH HOW WONDERFUL THE RESPONSES WERE.
UM, AND WE WILL BE RELEASING THIS INFORMATION IN TRANCHES IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
BUT IT HAS BEEN HELPFUL TO US TO HELP US INFORM WHAT GUIDELINES WILL BE IN PLACE FOR CULTURAL TRUST SPACES AND THE RENTAL, UH, THE AFFORDABILITY RENTAL PRACTICES FOR THOSE SPACES.
WE HEARD BOTH FROM VENUES, UH, 53% WERE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND MOST, ALMOST HALF OF THEM HAD BEEN IN, IN PLACE FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS.
WE DID HEAR MORE FROM PERFORMING ARTS VENUES, BUT WE DID HEAR FROM SOME MUSIC VENUES AND SOME PLACES THAT ACTUALLY HOSTED QUITE A BIT OF MUSIC ACTIVITY.
UM, AND MOST OF THE SPACES ARE THE VENUES RENT THEIR SPACE THEY DO NOT OWN.
AND RENTERS, WE HEARD HALF FROM INDIVIDUALS RENTING SPACE AND HALF FROM ORGANIZATIONS RENTING SPACE.
UM, AND A REAL WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT ARTS AND CREATIVE ENDEAVORS THAT PEOPLE WERE GROWING FROM ON THE RENTERS.
UM, BUT WE DID HEAR FROM A QUITE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO DERIVE A MAJORITY OF THEIR INCOME, UM, FROM CREATIVE WORK.
UM, AND, AND A LOT OF THEIR, UM, INCOME DOES GO STRAIGHT TO SPACE RENTALS.
AND MOSTLY, UM, WE DID HEAR THAT MOST OF THE RENTERS WERE FOLKS THAT RENTED ON AN A NEEDED BASIS, UH, AS NEEDED BASIS.
AND THE MAJORITY DID SAY NO SURPRISE.
THE COST WAS THE ABSOLUTE NUMBER ONE FACTOR IN TERMS OF RENTING SPACES.
UM, AND AS I SAID, THIS IS THE VERY INITIAL HIGH LEVEL OF WHO RESPONDED.
AND WE WILL, BY THE END OF MARCH, UM, HAVE SOME INITIAL FINDINGS, UH, THAT WE WILL BE REVEALING TO THE PEOPLE THAT DID TAKE THE TIME TO RESPOND TO US FIRST.
BUT THEN WE'LL HAVE A, AN OPEN, UM, PANEL AND CONVENING AND CERTAINLY WANNA PUBLISH DATA FOR IT TO HELP A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT VENUES AND RENTERS.
AND THEN FINALLY, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
I WAS TRYING TO DO THIS VERY QUICKLY, UM, BASED ON WHAT WE'VE LEARNED SO FAR FROM BOTH BLOCK 16 AND 18 WORK, AND SPECIFICALLY AROUND SOME OF THE AFFORDABILITY ON THE COMMERCIAL SPACE, UM, AND CULTURAL SPACE, AS WELL AS THE CULTURAL TRUST, WE ARE ORGANIZING A, WE ARE ORGANIZING OUR PROPOSALS, UH, TO THE BOND COMMITTEE, UM, THROUGH THE CITY'S PROCESS.
THE CITY IS BASICALLY TAKING MANY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ACROSS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS AND ASSEMBLING THEM INTO A MUCH LARGER SLATE OF POTENTIAL PROJECTS.
WE WILL BE ACTUALLY PROPOSING PROGRAMS KIND OF LIKE THE 2018 CREATIVE SPACES BOND WAS A PROGRAM, BUT ALSO LIKE THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT DOESN'T BOND ELECTION FOR A PROGRAM THAT GOES TO MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROJECTS.
UM, WE WILL BE PROPOSING THREE PROGRAMS, AND WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF RECEIVING COMMENT AND FEEDBACK ON THIS.
UM, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'D LIKE TO REALLY START LOOKING AT IS TRANSITIONING, INCLUDING ICONIC VENUE FUND FOR MUSIC VENUES.
BUT REALLY WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS WE ARE SUPPORTING LEGACY BUSINESSES AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE SOME FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR SUPPORTING LEGACY BUSINESSES AS WELL.
AND COMMERCIAL TRUST BEING ANY SORT OF RETAIL OR VENUE TYPE SPACE THAT WOULD BE PART OF A TRUST THAT WOULD HAVE, UM, SECURED LAND FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
WE WANT TO EXPAND THE CULTURAL TRUST AS WE'VE BEEN WORKING.
WE KNOW THAT THERE'S MUCH UNMET NEED AND THERE'S MANY MORE FACILITIES THAT NEED SUPPORT, UM,
[01:30:01]
ESPECIALLY IN THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS.UM, AND THEN FINALLY MORE FOCUSED, I WOULD SAY, ON SOME OF THE NEEDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF OUR AFFORDABILITY SURVEY.
IT'S THE WORKING SPACES, IT'S THE STUDIOS, IT'S THE REHEARSAL SPACES, IT'S THE STORAGE, IT'S THE THINGS THAT ARE BECOMING LESS AND LESS ABLE TO BE LOCATED FOR A LOT OF OUR CULTURAL ARTS SPACES.
UM, WE REALLY WANNA FOCUS ON AFFORDABLE WORKSPACE AND WORKFORCE INITIATIVES.
SO THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD DELVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THE TYPES OF INFRASTRUCTURE THAT REALLY HELPS SUPPORT THE DAY-TO-DAY WORKING AND POTENTIALLY LIVING SPACES THAT OUR ARTISTS ARE FINDING HARDER AND HARDER TO FIND.
SO THAT IS JUST A BRIEF PREVIEW OF WHERE WE'RE STARTING THIS PROCESS AND STARTING TO DISCUSS WITH, UM, THE, THE FOLKS ORGANIZING IT THROUGH THE CITY, UH, FOR THE BOND ELECTION IN 2026.
AND WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS, THOUGHTS, AND WE CERTAINLY, UM, ALWAYS HAPPY TO DIVE INTO MORE DETAIL AT THIS OR A FUTURE MEETING AND APOLOGIZING FOR MY SNIFFLES
WE APPRECIATE YOU PRESENTING, UH, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE A LITTLE UNDER THE WEATHER.
UM, SO YEAH, SO, SO MUCH HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED AND IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, SO MUCH TO COME AND IT'S REALLY EXCITING.
I, UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT ONE POINT IN YOUR PRESENTATION IT, YOU MENTIONED A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
UM, IS THAT ALL IN BLOCK 16 AND 18? IS THAT PART OF THAT PROJECT? YEAH, EXACTLY.
YEAH, THERE'S ABOUT A HUNDRED AND, UM, I'M JUST GONNA, ABOUT 140 UNITS OF HOUSING ACROSS TWO BLOCKS.
A HUNDRED UNITS ARE, UM, AFFORDABLE TO 60% AND BELOW MFI ON BLOCK 16 AND ABOUT 40 ARE COMBINATION OF LIVE WORK TOWN HOMES AND, UM, EITHER STUDENT HOUSING WITH, WE'RE TALKING WITH HOUSTON TILSON OR WORKFORCE HOUSING, UM, THAT ARE IN THE, THE 80 TO 120% MFI ON BLOCK 18.
THAT HASN'T BEEN FINALIZED YET.
THAT'S A REALLY COOL, UM, YEAH, THAT'S A TREMENDOUS THING TO SEE.
AND I LIKE SEEING THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IN COMBINATION WITH HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION AND, UM, YOU KNOW, CULTURAL ARTS MUSIC.
IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE ALL OF THAT, UH, KNITTED TOGETHER.
'CAUSE I THINK THEY DO NATURALLY GO TOGETHER, BUT WE JUST, FROM THE CITY PERSPECTIVE, DON'T ALWAYS THINK ABOUT IT THAT WAY.
UM, AND THEN IT'S, I ALSO NOTED THERE WAS SOME COMMERCIAL SPACE.
SO IS THAT AT THAT SAME DEVELOPMENT OR IS THAT YEAH, YEAH, THAT IS, UM, ABOUT 13,000 A SQUARE FOOT OF COMMERCIAL SPACE.
THE CURRENT DEVELOPERS PROPOSAL INCLUDES BELOW MARKET RENTS, AND THE FOCUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF SPECIFICALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, SMALL BLACK OWNED AND BROWN OWNED BUSINESSES THAT HAVE BEEN DISPLACED IN THE CITY AND OR PLACES, UM, BUSINESSES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR PERMANENT HOMES.
UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE DEVELOPERS BECAUSE THAT MIGHT BE THE HARDEST NUT TO CRACK ON THE DEVELOPMENT PROFORMA.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY THAT HAS BEEN A VISION THAT WAS PART OF THE RFP FOR THOSE TWO BLOCKS, AND IT'S OUR GOAL TO ACHIEVE THAT.
UM, SO I JUST, I WAS CURIOUS, ARE THE, ALL THE PROJECTS IN YOUR PORTFOLIO, WERE ALL OF THEM PART OF THAT APPLICATION PROJECT? WERE THEY ON THE SHORT LIST OR WERE SOME PROJECTS THAT YOU FOUND OTHER WAYS? THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALL, THEY'RE ALL FROM THE LONG LIST.
OH, IS IS TARA SPEAKING? I'M SORRY, I CAN'T QUITE SEE.
YEAH, THEY WERE ALL FROM THE ORIGINAL RFP AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING NOW SO MUCH MORE ABOUT WHAT WE LEARNED ABOUT THE FUNDING SOURCES IN PARTICULAR AND HOW WE COULD USE 'EM.
UM, CERTAINLY IF WE WERE TO WRITE THE RFP AGAIN, UH, WE WOULD PROBABLY DO A FEW THINGS QUITE A BIT DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE CONDITIONS HAVE CHANGED IN THE PAST THREE YEARS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES, ESPECIALLY WITH COLON LAW, THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY DIFFICULT.
'CAUSE WE WERE REALLY FACING AN ORGANIZATION THAT BARELY HAD A YEAR TO YEAR LEASE AND AN EXTENSION, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO CLOSE SHOPS, AND WE WORKED REALLY, REALLY HARD TO GET THAT ONE TO CLOSE.
UM, WE HAVE PLENTY OF VULNERABILITIES IN OUR CURRENT LONG LIST, ONE OF WHICH WE'RE MOVING AS FAST AS WE'D LIKE TO.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT THEY WERE, THEY'RE ALL FROM THE, THE ORIGINAL RFP RESPONSE LIST.
WELL THAT'S REALLY, I'M REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT SO MANY COMMUNITY GROUPS AND VENUES LIKE REALLY, REALLY PUT A LOT OF TRUST INTO, UM,
[01:35:01]
WHAT WAS A A DC AT THE TIME TO LISTEN TO THEIR NEEDS.AND I'M, I'M GLAD THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, APPLICANTS TO THAT PROGRAM ARE THE ONES THAT ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, THE ONE, THE PEOPLE THAT PUT THE, THE EFFORT INTO THESE PRESENTATION DECKS AND EXPLAINING WHAT THEY, WHAT THEIR ASPIRATIONS WERE.
IT'S REALLY NICE TO SEE THEM, YOU KNOW, THAT SOME OF THEM ARE REAPING THE REWARDS OF THAT.
AND, AND I KNOW THERE'S STILL SOME, LOOKS LIKE THERE'S STILL SOME MONEY IN THE BANK ACCOUNT.
UM, SO IT'D BE NICE TO SEE WHAT'S TO COME MM-HMM
I MEAN, AND WHAT IS THE INTENT THERE? LIKE WHAT WOULD THE WORK PART OF THAT LOOK LIKE IN THE LIVE WORK SPACES? THE MISSION, THE, THE VISION RESPONDED TO THE RFP, BUT ALSO IT'S A PART OF THE DEVELOPER'S VISION THAT IT'S TRULY A, IT'S KIND OF A CREATIVE LIVE, WORK, UM, ENVIRONMENT.
UM, SO I THINK NOTHING HAS BEEN DETERMINED YET ON FINAL, YOU KNOW, APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND OPERATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
BUT THE GOAL IS THAT IT WOULD BE INFUSED WITH, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN DISPLACED OR WANT TO LIVE IN THAT COMMUNITY.
UM, BUT ON TOP OF IT, TO REALLY INFUSE THE RESIDENTS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT RESIDENTS THAT ARE PART OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM BEING THERE.
UM, AS WELL AS STUDENTS, FACULTY OF HOUSTON TELE, UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER NEARBY INSTITUTIONS THAT WOULD REALLY LOVE TO BE IN THAT DISTRICT.
I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S AMAZINGLY SENSITIVE TO THE NEED IN THAT AREA AND, AND TO THE, YOU KNOW, THE RECENT HISTORY OF, AGAIN, LIKE THE DEMOGRAPHIC, UM, SHIFTS OR PRESSURE, ECONOMIC PRESSURES.
AND I, I THINK IT REALLY REPRESENTS A REMARKABLE EFFORT, UH, TO HELP PEOPLE, UM, THAT HAVE A HISTORY WITH THAT PART OF AUSTIN TO STILL, TO HAVE A FUTURE WITH THAT PART OF AUSTIN.
SO I REALLY CONGRATULATE YOU ALL ON THAT, UM, ON THE, THE LOAN TO EMPIRE.
SO WHAT IS THAT, HOW, HOW IS THAT STRUCTURED? LIKE HOW IS IT, IS THAT LIKE A LOW INTEREST LOAN OR THEY HAVE A LONG TIME TO PAY IT BACK? LIKE WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF THEM GETTING THE LOAN THROUGH Y'ALL AS OPPOSED TO THROUGH A TRADITIONAL A BANK OR SOMETHING? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, IT IS OUR FIRST PILOT LOAN.
UM, WE, WE WORKED WITH SOME OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND, AND ACTUALLY THE CITY'S DEPARTMENT DOES THE SMALL FAMILY BUSINESS LOAN TO UNDERSTAND PRACTICES.
UH, WE HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED THAT WE HAVE A LOAN POOL, BUT I KNOW SOME OF THE INTENT OF THE ICONIC MUSIC FUND WAS TO SEE SOME OF IT RECIRCULATE.
UM, AND THEY WERE UNABLE AT THE TIME OF THE TRANSACTION TO, UM, FIND A TRADITIONAL BANK LOAN AT A RATE THAT SEEMED, UM, APPROPRIATE MM-HMM
UM, SO WE WERE ABLE TO GET TO AN INTEREST RATE THAT ACTUALLY MATCHED CLOSE TO WHAT THEY WERE PAYING IN RENT.
UH, BUT THEN THEY COULD ACQUIRE THE PROPERTY AND DEVELOP ACROSS BOTH PROPERTIES.
UH, IT'S A 10 YEAR TERM, AND THE POINT IS, IS THAT THEY WOULD BE REPAYING THE LOAN, UH, OR REFINANCING IT ONCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW FACILITY IS COMPLETE.
UM, ACTUALLY, AND I'LL JUST MENTION THAT ONE, UM, IS A 10 YEAR TERM, BUT THE FUND, THE LOAN AGREEMENT, THE FUNDING AGREEMENT AND A RESTRICTIVE COVENANT THAT THAT LAND HAS TO STAY, UM, A LIVE MUSIC VENUE, UH, IS ON FOR 20 YEARS.
I THINK, WELL, I JUST HAD ONE MORE QUESTION.
I, 'CAUSE I'M, I'M ON THE CULTURAL TEST ADVISORY COMMITTEE, SO I AM FAMILIAR WITH A LOT OF THE, THE PROJECTS, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, BEING DEVELOPED.
UM, SO THERE WERE A COUPLE I WANTED TO JUST HIGHLIGHT IN CASE THEY'RE NOT AS OBVIOUS, YOU KNOW, TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS, LIKE, SO THE, THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, THAT IS NOT GONNA BE ABOUT PERMITTING AT ALL,
BUT THAT'S A COOL, THAT'S A HORROR MEME.
YEAH, THAT'S LIKE A COOL FLEX SPACE, UM, THAT'S BEEN KIND OF CARVED OUT OF A, BASICALLY A PARKING GARAGE.
UM, SO WHAT CAN YOU, I KNOW THE CONSTRUCTION TIMELINE ON THAT IS A LITTLE COMPLICATED OR LENGTHY REALLY TO MAKE IT WORK FOR A CREATIVE SPACE, BUT ONCE IT'S COMPLETE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT LIKE THE, THE TYPES OF, YOU KNOW, TENANTS THAT COULD USE OR, OR RENTERS THAT COULD USE THAT? YEAH.
FROM THE, UM, ORIGINAL RFP, THERE WERE TWO ORGANIZATIONS THAT EXPRESSED NEED IN NEW SPACE IF IT WAS CREATED, AND THAT IS RUDE MET AND THE AUSTIN BAT CAVE.
AND SO WE'VE FOCUSED ON A MULTIPURPOSE THEATER BLACK BOX SPACE THAT WOULD ALSO HAVE SOME WORKSPACE, CREATIVE WORKSPACE, AND A REHEARSAL ROOM OR WORKSHOP ROOM.
[01:40:01]
UM, IT'S ONLY 7,000 SQUARE FEET.AND, UM, THE THEATER, WE SORT OF PRIORITIZE THE BLACK BOX THEATER SPACE.
IT WILL FIT UP TO 120, UM, PATRONS IN DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS.
UM, AND WE REALLY WORK TO KIND OF, AGAIN, 'CAUSE OF THE SPACE BEING SO CONSTRAINED, UH, PRIORITIZE THAT, UM, THE SPACE WILL NOT JUST BE FOR THE USE OF THOSE TWO ORGANIZATIONS.
ROOT MAX WILL BE ESSENTIALLY THE FACILITY MANAGER AND THAT WE WILL BE, IT'LL BE AN OPEN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE TO RENT BY ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WE'VE NOT ESTABLISHED THE FORMAL OPERATIONS PLAN YET, BUT PART OF THE REASON WHY WE DID THE AFFORDABILITY SURVEY WAS TO TRY AND BEST UNDERSTAND THE BEST WAY TO ESSENTIALLY SET GUIDELINES TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT SPACE STAYS AFFORDABLE.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY STILL A DESIGN PROCESS.
I WISH I COULD GIVE YOU AN ESTIMATE OF WHEN IT WOULD BE OPEN.
WE KNOW SOME, AND ACTUALLY THE AFFORDABILITY SURVEY DID OUTLINE SOME NEED FOR THIS SCALE OF THEATER STILL, UM, OUT IN THE MARKET, WHICH WAS OUR INTUITIVE KNOWLEDGE, BUT IT WAS NICE TO HAVE THAT VALIDATED.
UM, BUT, UH, WE ARE STILL WORKING THROUGH A REALLY COMPLEX DESIGN, UM, THE LEASE WITH THE CITY ON THE SPACE AND SOME OF THE OPERATIONAL AGREEMENTS.
UH, WE KNOW THE SPACE IS NEEDED SOONER THAN LATER, BUT IT WILL BE MULTIPURPOSE AND WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND CAN YOU GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT? LIKE WHAT THEIR, SO I SEE THAT'S A CAPITAL PROJECT, SO I ASSUME THERE'S, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NEW CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING THERE.
CAN YOU GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE PLAN IS? YEAH, AND THAT IS, UM, THE REQUEST IN THE RFP WAS TO, UM, PROVIDE THE FUNDING TO KIND OF EFFECTIVELY REPLACE THE EXISTING BUILDING.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, IT'S A WAREHOUSE SHED WITH MULTIPLE OUTBUILDINGS.
UM, AND IT HAS, IT IS, IT IS THE END OF ITS USEFUL LIFE IN TERMS OF JUST, YOU KNOW, KEEPING RAIN OUT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, BEING INHABITED MM-HMM
UM, AND SO THE GOAL WOULD BE TO CREATE A NEW FACILITY THAT MATCHED THE SCALE AND THE NUMBER OF ARTISTS THAT ARE ABLE TO COLLABORATE AND SHARE SPACE IN THAT FACILITY.
OUR INVESTMENT REALLY IS THE SORT OF ANCHOR FOR PRIVATE FUNDRAISING, WHICH IS THE SAME AS THE PLAYHOUSE AS WELL.
AND ACTUALLY THE PLAYHOUSE IN A SIMILAR ARRANGEMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY REQUESTED SORT OF AN ANCHOR INVESTMENT TO HELP THEM TO CONTINUE TO FUNDRAISE FOR THEIR CAPITAL PROJECT.
UM, AND BOTH CASES THEY WOULD BE OPEN AND AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE GUIDELINES WOULD PROVIDE THE GUIDELINES OR THE OPERATING AGREEMENT WE WOULD HAVE WITH THEM WOULD BE TO, UM, MAINTAIN AFFORDABILITY.
UM, AND I DO KNOW, ACTUALLY THE PLAYHOUSE JUST MENTIONED TO ME, UM, LAST WEEK, I THINK THEY HAVE PRESENTED TO THE, THE ARTS COMMISSION OF THE MUSIC COMMISSION, BUT THEY'VE ACTUALLY RE KICKED, STARTED SOME FOCUS GROUPS TO REALLY REACH OUT TO A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THEY HAD MET WITH PRIOR TO COVID, WHEN THEY HAD INITIALLY COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR THAT, UM, PERFORMANCE SPACE.
BUT IN BOTH CASES, MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT AND, UH, THE PLAYHOUSE THEATER WILL BE NEW VENUES, ESSENTIALLY.
AND THEN, SO OWNERSHIP WISE, YOU KNOW, ONCE THESE INVESTMENTS ARE MADE, AND YOU ALSO SAID THERE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S PROBABLY SOME PRIVATE FUNDRAISING THAT HAPPENS.
LIKE, WHO OWNS THE BUILDING, WHO OWNS THE GROUND, WHO OWNS THE DIRT? LIKE, HOW DOES THAT ALL WORK IN, IN ORDER FOR THE, IN THOSE TWO CASES? THOSE ARE FROM, WITH THE 2018 BOND FUNDS, AND THAT REQUIRES A LONG TERM REAL ESTATE INTEREST.
RIGHT NOW, MUSEUM OF HUMAN ACHIEVEMENT AND PLAYHOUSE BOTH OWN THEIR LAND.
WE ACTUALLY WILL GROUND LEASE THE LAND AND THEN WE WOULD CONTRIBUTE DOLLARS TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
AND THAT NEEDS TO STAY IN PLACE FOR THE LIFE OF THE BONDS.
IT'S ACTUALLY A FAIRLY SIMILAR STRUCTURE TO HOW, UM, THE ZACK THEATER WAS CONSTRUCTED.
UM, AND IT ACTUALLY TOOK QUITE A WHILE TO GET TO THAT, MOSTLY BECAUSE WITH THE BOND FUNDS, IT WAS REALLY TRICKY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BEST ARRANGE IT TO GET THE DOLLARS INTO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.
YEAH, I KNOW THAT'S A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT YOUR GROUP DOES A LOT OF NEGOTIATION, YOU DO A LOT OF MATH
UM, WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO OTHER COMMISSIONERS.
I'M SORRY TO MONOPOLIZE ALL THIS, BUT DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A QUESTION OR A COMMENT? ANYBODY? I DO.
UM, THIS IS SUPER COOL INFORMATION.
THANKS FOR PRESENTING ALL THIS STUFF AND FOR ALL THE WORK YOU DO.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
WHAT, IS THERE A SPACE SOMEWHERE WHERE THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM NOT PUBLIC FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO THIS? LIKE WHERE, UH, WELLS
[01:45:01]
FARGO AND MAYBE C3 AND SIX SQUARE HAVE, YOU KNOW, COME INTO THE, THE CAP TABLE ON THIS DEAL? OR, OR IS IT ALL PUBLIC FUNDED AND IT, IT JUST SAYS THERE'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH C3 IN, IN WELLS FARGO.SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT IT.
ADAA, DO YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? IS SHE EITHER STILL, UM, THE SHORT ANSWER IS THOSE, UM, PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS ARE FOR THE EXISTING PROJECTS.
SO THERE'S NOT A, THERE'S NOT A SEPARATE FUND OF FLEXIBLE DOLLARS.
HOWEVER, UM, WE HOPE TO, AS ANN MENTIONED, UM, AS WE GROW THE CULTURAL TRUST, THERE WOULD BE A GOAL.
WE, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IN THIS PROCESS IS THAT WE NEED THE PHILANTHROPIC FLEXIBLE DOLLARS TO EXECUTE ON THE VERY RESTRICTED, UM, GOVERNMENT FUNDS.
UM, AND THE, THE C3, I MEAN, THAT WAS A VERY, I I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT.
I MEAN, THAT WAS A VERY, RIGHT WHEN WE RECEIVED OUR 5 0 1 C3, UM, WE WERE PUTTING ON AN EVENT AT, UM, ON EAST 11TH, UH, KENNY DURHAM'S BACKYARD, AND IT WAS A C3 CAME IN AND SAID, WE WANNA PAY THE MUSICIAN.
SO THAT WAS A SMALL, A VERY SMALL GRANT TO HELP PAY MUSICIANS, WHICH WE'RE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF.
UM, SO I THINK IS, IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, 'CAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE ASKING IF THERE'S PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS AVAILABLE THAT ARE, THAT ARE FLEXIBLE, CORRECT.
I THINK, I THINK YOU DID ANSWER IT.
SO IT JUST MEANS THEY'RE, IT'S JUST OPERATING INCOME TO MANAGE THE, THE PROCESS AND THE FUNDS THAT ARE PUBLIC FUNDS.
WELL, IT DEPENDS ON THE DONOR.
YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON THE DONOR AND HOW, HOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT PROGRAM GOALS THEY HAVE.
BUT BASICALLY EVERY DOLLAR THAT'S BEEN RAISED HAS BEEN FOR A SPECIFIC, UH, PROJECT OR EVENT.
UM, I, I, MAYBE THERE ARE SOME OTHER, YOU KNOW, BANKS OR PHILANTHROPIC FOLKS, HOW I'M ASKING THEM ALL, I'M ASKING THEM ALL FOR MONEY.
I BASICALLY TELL EVERYBODY, IF I'M NOT ASKING YOU FOR MONEY, THEN I'M NOT DOING MY JOB.
BECAUSE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE CULTURAL TRUST EXPAND AND HAVE A LOT OF, UM, FLEXIBLE DOLLARS.
I MEAN, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THE EMPIRE LOAN AS A PILOT IS, YOU KNOW, COULD THIS BE A LOAN FUND WHERE THE DOLLARS REVOLVE AND IT'S ONLY USED FOR ARTS, MUSIC AND, AND CULTURE.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE A COMPLIMENT TO ALL THE CITY, YOU KNOW, PROGRAMS THAT ARE ALREADY EXISTING.
WE DON'T WANNA REINVENT ANYTHING.
WE WANNA WORK TOGETHER AS PARTNERS.
WOULD IT BE LIKE INTEREST FROM THE LOAN WOULD ROLL OVER TO OTHER LOANS? MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE THAT? THAT, OR OTHER INVESTMENTS? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU COULD TELL BY ANNE GOING THROUGH IN DETAIL EACH OF THE, UH, PROJECTS IN THE PORTFOLIO.
EVERYBODY HAS A DIFFERENT NEED.
UM, SO ANNE AND HER TEAM HAVE BEEN REALLY CREATIVE.
WE'VE ALSO MADE OUR LAWYERS BE REALLY CREATIVE TO SAY, OKAY, THIS CAN'T BE DONE WELL, WHAT CAN BE DONE? RIGHT.
I THINK THAT'S THE QUESTION THAT HAS TO BE ANSWERED BECAUSE THE LEGAL PART OF THIS, UM, HAS BEEN REALLY CHALLENGING.
SO A LOT OF OUR OPERATING DOLLARS, NOT THE, NOT THE PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS YET, UM, ARE REALLY GOING TO COVER OUR LEGAL FEES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET THESE AGREEMENTS IN PLACE.
AND IF, UH, IF WE KNOW SOMEBODY OR PEOPLE, HOW DO WE DIRECT THEM TO YOU AND HOW, HOW CAN WE HELP? UM, I RALLY AUSTIN, MY TERESA@RALLYAUSTIN.ORG IS MY, UM, EMAIL.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO, UM, CONNECT WITH ANY, UM, ANY DONORS THAT YOU GUYS THINK, UM, THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED.
AND I, AND THE CITY HAS ALL OF OUR CONTACT INFORMATION AS WELL.
UM, I KNOW YOU ALL WERE AT SOME POINT WORKING WITH, UH, KENNY DORM'S BACKYARD, AND I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT THE PROCESS WAS THAT I KNOW I ACTUALLY SAT IN THE MEETING WITH TIM, WITH MILLENNIUM AND ALL THAT BEFORE THEY GOT THEIR FUNDING.
MY STUDIO'S A DORIS MILLER, SO I'M ON THAT BLOCK.
UM, AND JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT THE, WHAT THE PLAN AND WHAT THAT TIMELINE IS FOR THE KENNY DORMS KIND OF REBUILD OR WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THAT SPACE.
AND DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT? YEAH.
THAT, THAT IS A PART OF THE BLOCK 16 AND 18 DEVELOPMENTS.
SO RIGHT THERE ON BLOCK 18 WHERE KENNY DURHAM BACKYARD IS, IN THE FUTURE, THERE WILL BE PRIMARILY AN INDOOR OUTDOOR SPACE THAT WOULD BE AN ANCHOR OF A CULTURAL CENTER EFFECTIVELY ON THAT BLOCK.
SO WE'RE KIND OF TACKLING IT RIGHT NOW WITH THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT OF THAT BLOCK.
UH, IT WOULD STILL BE A CULTURAL TRUST FACILITY.
UM, THERE'S LOTS OF LITTLE DETAILS THAT WE HAVE TO WORK OUT WITH THE DEVELOPERS AND WITH, UM, BOTH THE FUNDING OF THE INITIAL CONSTRUCTION AS WELL AS THE FIT OUT.
BUT IT IS PART AND PARCEL OF THAT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
THANKS SO MUCH, THERESA AND ANN EMETT.
VALE, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? OKAY, WELL, I'M SORRY.
UM, THANK YOU, UM, TERESA, AND, UM, FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'RE DOING, EMMETT, WE ARE JUST, UH, ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO HAVE YOU ALL
[01:50:01]
LEADERSHIP REPRESENTING, UH, US, UH, AT AT RALLY AUSTIN.UM, ON A LIGHTER NOTE, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE NAME CHANGE, UM, AND, UH,
SO IF YOU COULD THROW SOME LIGHT ON THAT.
UM, BUT OVERALL, UM, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT IS SUCH A VALUE STATEMENT THAT THE CITY IS MAKING IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, HOW WE VALUE ARTS AND MUSIC MM-HMM
UM, WHETHER IT IS THROUGH RALLY AUSTIN, UH, THROUGH HAVING THESE GRANTS, UH, FROM THE HOT TAXES, UH, ESPECIALLY, UM, BRINGING THE LIVE MUSIC FUND, WHICH IS SO UNIQUE TO OUR CITY RIGHT NOW AND NOW, UH, THIS NEW DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND, AND, AND IT'S REALLY A STATEMENT THAT WE ARE MAKING ON HOW WE VALUE, UM, ARTS AND MUSIC AND CULTURE IN THIS CITY AND, AND HOW THAT NEEDS TO BE SUPPORTED.
UM, UH, RALLY AUSTIN OR EDC BEING RELATIVELY NEW, UM, OVER THE LAST YEAR WITH, WITH, UH, WITH CHANGES AT THE CITY, WITH THE NEW CITY MANAGER NOW WITH THE NEW DEPARTMENT, IS THERE ANYTHING FROM AN OPERATIONAL, UH, STRATEGIC, UH, VIEWPOINT THAT HAS EVOLVED, UH, THAT, THAT WE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN OR BE AWARE OF ON HOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOW A EDC OR RALLY WORKS WITH, WITH THE CITY AND WILL CONTINUE WORKING WITH THIS NEW DEPARTMENT? WHAT ARE THE SYNERGIES AND, UM, IF THERE IS ANY EVOLUTION THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO I ASKED ABOUT THE, THE NAME CHANGE THEN THAT, AND THEN ONE LAST THING IS THIS IS A MIX OF, UH, NONPROFITS PRIVATE ENTERPRISE, UM, HOW, UM, UH, AS WE ARE INVESTING, MAKING THIS INVESTMENT DECISIONS, UH, UH, HOW ARE WE ENSURING THAT AS A BUSINESS OR, OR A NONPROFIT ENTITY THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT PLANS IN PLACE TO, UH, CONTINUE, UH, BEING VIABLE.
SO I'LL TAKE THE FIRST TWO AND THEN ANN MAYBE THE THIRD ONE I THINK SURE.
SO NUMBER ONE, UM, THANKS FOR ASKING ABOUT THE NAME CHANGE.
UH, WHEN WE WERE CREATED AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, THERE WAS A LOT OF COMMU CONFUSION IN THE COMMUNITY BETWEEN AN EDD AND AN EDC.
AND SO WE AGREED INTERNALLY, UM, WITH OUR FRIENDS AT EDD THAT, UM, AND, AND EVEN WITH THE CITY, I MEAN, UH, CITY MANAGER GARZA KEPT REFERRING TO ME AS DIRECTOR ALVAREZ.
AND I WAS LIKE, OH, NO, I'M NOT A CITY EMPLOYEE.
WE DO NOT RECEIVE CITY BENEFITS OR CITY, UM, PENSION.
AND SO THERE WAS JUST CONFUSION AND A LOT OF REQUESTS, UM, FOR THAT, FOR THAT TO BE MADE MORE CLEAR THAT WE'RE A SEPARATE ENTITY, UH, A SEPARATE 5 0 1 C3, AND THEN WE REALLY, THE NAME RALLY, UM, JUST THE WAY THE ARTS COMMISSION AND THE MUSIC COMMISSION RALLIED AROUND GETTING THIS ORGANIZATION CREATED, UM, WE FELT THAT IT REALLY REPRESENTED ALL OF OUR PROJECTS ARE GONNA BE COMPLICATED.
THEY'RE GONNA BE DIFFICULT, THEY HAVE RESTRICTED DOLLARS ASSOCIATED WITH IT, SO WE'RE ALL GONNA HAVE TO RALLY AROUND SOMETHING TO GET DONE RIGHT.
VERSUS LIKE JUST MAKING SOMETHING MOVE FORWARD.
SO WE REALLY ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE NAME.
UM, IT'S BEEN WELL RECEIVED AND IT'S BEEN A REAL DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY AND US AS A, AS A SEPARATE, UM, ENTITY.
UM, YOUR SECOND QUESTION, UM, I JUST WENT BLANK ON THE SECOND QUESTION, BUT I HAD RELATED TO OPERATIONS, CORRECT.
OH, AND THE NEW, AND WORKING WITH THE NEW CITY MANAGER.
STRATEGICALLY, HOW HAS THE RELATION BETWEEN, UH, RALLY AUSTIN AND THE CITY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE NEW CITY MANAGER, THE NEW DEPARTMENT NOW? HOW HAS IT EVOLVED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND WOULD BE INTERESTED TO KNOW ABOUT? YEAH.
WELL, WE JUST PRESENTED THE ANNUAL REPORT, UM, TO THE NEW CITY MANAGER AND HIS TEAM.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED TO WORK WITH, UM, DIRECTOR.
MEANS WE WORKED WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS IN HOUSING AND PARKS AS WELL.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ACROSS, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
SO REALLY, YOU KNOW, I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW CREATION OF THIS DEPARTMENT AND I AGREE THAT IT'S A COMMITMENT, YOU KNOW, TO THE CITY, BUT I THINK, UM, THE GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TOGETHER, UM, THE WORK IS GOING TO CONTINUE.
SO WE KNOW A LOT OF THE PLAYERS ON, ON THE TEAM, SO I DON'T SEE, YOU KNOW, UNTIL, YOU KNOW, I WANNA SEE HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
UM, BUT I REALLY THINK WE'RE ALREADY DOING THE WORK, AND I THINK IT'S JUST GREAT THAT THEY'RE ALL THE, ALL OF THE GROUPS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TOGETHER.
SO, UM, WE'RE GOING TO, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY MEET WITH, UM, DIRECTOR MEAN SOON.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH A LOT OF HER, UH, YOU KNOW, HER TEAM ALREADY.
SO I, I WOULD SEE THAT ONLY GOING IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION IS MY, IS MY HOPE AND GOAL.
AND THEN ANN, I THINK THE THIRD QUESTION WAS FOR YOU.
UM, THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, EACH ONE IS DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF WHERE THEY ARE ON THEIR, UM, CURRENT BUSINESS STATUS AND ULTIMATELY WHAT THEIR PLANS FOR THE PROJECT IS.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT BY AND LARGE, WE HAVE SPENT MORE TIME KIND OF ALMOST IN A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CAPACITY, SORT OF LIKE REALLY EVALUATING AND LOOKING AT EVERYTHING FROM LEASES, UM, AGREEMENTS, UM, DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SUPPORT AND STRUCTURE THE ORGANIZATION, BUT ULTIMATELY THINGS THAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING THAT WE DON'T HAVE
[01:55:01]
FUNDS FOR.AND THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, IN A NEW OPERATION, IN A LARGER SPACE THAT MEANS A DIFFERENT BUDGET AND OBVIOUSLY MORE OPERATING COSTS.
WE DON'T HAVE DOLLARS FOR OPERATING COSTS IN OUR CULTURAL TRUST.
AND SO BACK TO THE FUNDRAISING QUESTION, YOU KNOW, IF I HAD MY DREAM, WE WOULD BE HAVING LIKE AN ENDOWMENT FOR THE OPERATIONS OF THESE BUSINESSES, EVEN ONCE WE'VE SECURED THEM.
BECAUSE A LOT OF TIMES SECURING SPACE ISN'T EVERYTHING THAT THEY HAVE TO TACKLE.
AND OVER TIME, YOU KNOW, THIS YEAR, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S BEEN EVERY YEAR, BUT THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR, I KNOW A LOT OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS HAVE HAD SIGNIFICANT INSURANCE INCREASES.
AND IT'S SORT OF THE THING, LIKE, WE KNOW PROPERTY TAXES ARE GOING UP, BUT EVERY LITTLE FIGHT ON THE BUDGET IS MAKING IT REALLY DIFFICULT FOR MOST ORGANIZATIONS.
AND SO THESE ARE LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MAY NEED TO THINK ABOUT LONG-TERM, HOW WE CAN STAFF UP TO SUPPORT ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS, UM, IN THEIR VARYING LEVELS OF, OF BOTH NEED AND SUCCESS.
UM, BUT OUR HOPE IS THAT WITH THIS INITIAL PORTFOLIO, WE HAVE A BETTER SENSE NOW ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO RUN A PROPER CULTURAL TRUST THAN WE WOULD IF WE WERE JUST DOING ONE PROJECT AT A TIME.
AND WE ARE SORT OF DOING ONE PROJECT AT A TIME, BUT IN A COMPRESSED TIMEFRAME.
UM, I WILL SAY, I'M SURE THE CITY'S, UM, SMALL BUSINESS LOAN PROGRAM FOLKS KNOW THIS REALLY WELL.
ANY OF THE NONPROFIT CD CDFIS THAT ARE PROVIDING LOANS AND GRANTS TO A LOT OF NONPROFITS, THEY KNOW THIS TOO.
IT JUST TAKES A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, SUPPORT THAT WE DON'T HAVE AS MANY RESOURCES FOR.
SO, UM, BUT WE ARE TRYING TO WORK VERY CLOSELY SO THAT ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS WE'RE SUPPORTING ARE SUCCESSFUL, BUT, UM, IT, IT WILL, IT WILL TAKE A VILLAGE.
BECAUSE UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
BECAUSE I WOULD THINK, I MEAN, ANY OF THESE ENTERPRISES AND, AND WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE GETTING FROM RALLY AUSTIN IS HUGE, FROM THE CITY IS HUGE.
UM, BUT END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, THEY ALSO NEED A, A VIABLE BUSINESS PLAN TO KEEP KEEP YEAH.
YOU KNOW, IF IT'S A 20 YEAR PLAN FOR THE SPACE, THEN THERE'S GOTTA BE A PARALLEL BUSINESS PLAN TO SURVIVE.
AND TRY AND BUILD ON THAT FOR THAT LONG.
AND, AND I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THAT IS PART AND PARCEL OF THE EVALUATION IN, IN, IN, UH, YOU KNOW, SELECTING ENTERPRISES OR ENTITIES FOR, YOU KNOW, TO ENGAGE WITH, UM, IN WHAT, WHAT THEIR BUSINESS PLAN IS TO STAY VIABLE.
YOU'LL FIND THAT THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN, THEY DEFINITIVELY HAD HAD MORE, I WOULD SAY, SIGNIFICANT LIKE THOUGHTS AND PLANS.
I MEAN, WE WERE JUST COMING OUTTA COVID WHEN THIS RFP CAME OUT.
SO OF COURSE, YEAR BY YEAR, THOSE PLANS HAVE ADJUSTED SOMEWHAT IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, NOBODY, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY PIVOTS MORE OFTEN THAN I THINK WE WANT TO THESE DAYS.
AND SO OVER A 20 YEAR, THE NIGHT THAT HOLE IN THE WALL, WE HAVE AN EVENT THERE TO CELEBRATE THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY AND SOMEONE TO SAY ON STAGE WHAT YEAR IT IS IN 20 YEARS FROM NOW.
YOU KNOW, THAT JUST SEEMS SO FAR AWAY.
SO IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING WHERE WE HAVE TO HAVE THE CAPACITY AND THE STAFF, UM, AND THE KIND OF ONGOING RELATIONSHIP, UM, TO MAKE IT THROUGH THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, WE DO HAVE, OUR FUNDING AGREEMENTS DO PROVIDE AVENUES FOR, IF FOR SOME REASON SOMEBODY GOES IN DEFAULT AND THEY'RE NO LONGER ABLE TO BE THERE, HOW RALLY AUSTIN STEPS IN, UM, TO HELP MAINTAIN EITHER LIVE MUSIC VENUE OR A NONPROFIT CREATIVE ARTS SPACE FOR THE LIFETIME OF THE AGREEMENT.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S GUIDELINES IN THERE OR STOP GAPS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE PEOPLE THRIVE IN THESE NEW SPACES AND NEW INVESTMENTS.
THAT'S, I WON'T MAKE IT TOO LONG.
AND THERE CAN'T BE ONE OF THESE MEETINGS WITHOUT ME TALKING ABOUT INSURANCE.
SO I, I NEED TO, UM, HAS THERE EVER BEEN A CONVERSATION WITHIN RALLY AUSTIN ABOUT MAYBE CREATING A CO-OP INSURANCE PROGRAM WHERE THERE IS A BUCKET OF MONEY AND, UM, MUSIC VENUES CAN PULL INTO SELF-FUND ITS INSURANCE, AND THEN WE'RE NOT, YOU KNOW, BEING ATTACKED BY THESE CRAZY HIKES AND SPIKES IN INSURANCE DOLLARS THAT NEED TO BE PAID OUT BY SMALL MUSIC VENUES.
AND THAT, THAT COULD ALSO BE A REALLY GOOD WAY TO CREATE FUNDS FOR RALLY AUSTIN, UM, WHERE YOU ESSENTIALLY TURN INTO A, A CO-OP INSURANCE PROGRAM IN A, IN A BANK, I WOULD LOVE TO PAY THE $120,000 A YEAR THAT THE FAR OUT PAYS INTO INSURANCE TO Y'ALL INSTEAD OF THE REALLY AWESOME INSURANCE COMPANY THAT WE USE.
UM, BUT IT, IT IS A CRIPPLING AMOUNT OF MONEY, AS YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU'VE MENTIONED IT, AND THAT'S WHERE MY SPIDEY SENSES STARTED TINGLING.
[02:00:01]
I'M LIKE, WELL, LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT REAL QUICK.UM, BECAUSE WE'RE ALL PAYING AN, AN ABSORBENT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO INSURANCE, BUT IF THERE IS, AND WE'VE KIND OF LOOKED INTO IT AND INDEPENDENTLY, WE DON'T HAVE THE FUNDS TO CREATE THIS AS ANY MUSIC VENUE IN TOWN THAT I'VE SEEN OR TALKED TO LIKE AS, AS OPERATORS, I JUST DON'T KNOW ANYBODY WHO'S RICH AS HELL CAN JUST DO IT INDEPENDENTLY.
UM, BUT A CO-OP INSURANCE PROGRAM COULD BE SUPER BENEFICIAL TO AUSTIN.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK THAT MAYBE YOU ALL COULD REALLY HELP GET GOING.
I MEAN, IT WOULD REALLY SAVE A LOT OF VENUES AND, AND MAYBE NEED LESS FUNDING FROM THE CITY IF WE DON'T HAVE THAT BURDEN ON OUR BACKS.
NO, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
WE HAVEN'T HAD, WE HAVEN'T GONE AS FAR AS THE INSURANCE CO-OP, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT SUGGESTION.
BUT IT'S DEFINITELY COME UP, AS ANNE WAS MENTIONING, AS A PART OF OPERATIONS.
SO, AND ANNA, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD A, I MEAN, I KNOW THE VENUE, UM, OWNERS AND THEATERS BRING UP ALL, YOU KNOW, ALL THE EXPENSES, UM, TO IT.
SO WE'RE AWARE OF IT BEING A BURDEN, A COST BURDEN.
UM, I HAVEN'T BEEN ANY INVOLVED IN ANY TO, TO CREATE, TO CREATE ANOTHER ENTITY.
I THINK WE, WE HAVE OUR HANDS SO FULL WITH THE AGREEMENTS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET DONE AND THE DOLLARS WE'RE TRYING TO GET OUT THE DOOR.
WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN THAT FAR, BUT I THINK, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION.
I THINK IT COULD MAKE YOU GUYS A LOT OF MONEY TO HELP OTHER VENUES IN THE PROCESS, BECAUSE YOU WOULD JUST BE THE, THE, THE POOL OF FUNDS TO BE THE INSURANCE, YOU KNOW, TABLE.
AND THANK YOU FOR LISTENING AND BEING POSITIVE ABOUT NO, THANK YOU GUYS FOR HAVING US, AND THANK YOU FOR THE, THE, THE, THE TIME THAT YOU'RE, THAT YOU'RE INVESTING IN OUR IN KEEPING ARTS AND MUSIC ALIVE IN AUSTIN.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT, UM, AND HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER.
AUSTIN, APPRECIATE Y'ALL MOVING
[6. Discussion on Meadowfest 2025 Fundraiser for Mental Health Awareness after presentation by Greg Goodman - Founder of the Meadow E. Goodman Foundation for Mental Health Awareness. ]
ON.UM, HAVE A VERY PATIENT PRESENTER HERE, GREG, UH, GOODMAN FROM MEADOW FEST IS GONNA COME UP AND TALK TO US.
UM, I BOUGHT THE MEADOW FEST 2025 FUNDRAISER, UM, AND THAT WAS FOLLOWING A VERY SUCCESSFUL MEADOW FEST.
UH, THAT'S WAS LATE, LATE LAST YEAR, CORRECT? YES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HAVING ME.
UM, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS AND, AND THIS BODY.
UH, I, UH, AM FOUNDER OF, UH, THE MEADOW E GOODMAN FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS, WHICH IS AN INPRO 5 0 1 C3 NONPROFIT AND MEADOW FEST, WHICH WAS HELD LAST YEAR IN AUGUST.
UH, IT WAS A MUSIC FESTIVAL PROMOTING MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS.
I'VE BEEN AN AUSTIN RESIDENT, UH, SINCE, UH, 2008.
UM, I MOVED HERE JUST, UH, A COUPLE MONTHS AFTER OUR YOUNGEST DAUGHTER MEADOW WAS BORN.
UH, BOTH OF MY DAUGHTERS EDEN AND MEADOW DEALT WITH CHALLENGING, UH, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES THAT STARTED IN THEIR TEENS.
UM, WHILE I'M HAPPY AND FORTUNATE TO SAY THAT EDEN, MY OLDEST DAUGHTER AND OLDEST CHILD AT 20 YEARS OF AGE, IS CURRENTLY A STUDENT AT UT AND THRIVING, UH, IT STILL CRUSHES ME TO SAY THAT MY DAUGHTER, MEADOW GOODMAN, LOST HER BATTLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH DYING BY SUICIDE JUST AFTER HER 15TH BIRTHDAY ON AUGUST 12TH, 2023, UM, THE DAY OF MEADOW'S DEATH.
UH, I CHECKED IN WITH MY WIFE LULU, ABOUT THE INFLUXES INFLUX OF OFFERS OF SUPPORT.
UH, WE WERE SO FORTUNATE TO GET SUPPORT FROM OUR COMMUNITY, UH, FRIENDS AND FAMILY, OF COURSE.
UM, AND I WANTED TO KNOW HER COMFORT LEVEL REGARDING THE IMPACT OF WHAT WE HAD JUST DEALT WITH.
UH, AND THE DAY LATER, THAT DAY AFTER, UH, WE DISCOVERED MEADOW, UH, THAT HAD DIED, UM, SHE SET THE TONE FOR WHAT, UH, THE PATH THAT I'M ON AND MY FAMILY'S ON, WHICH IS BASICALLY THAT, UM, WE WOULD NOT HIDE, UH, AWAY AND KEEP TO OURSELVES, WHICH ANYBODY WOULD BE WELL WITHIN THEIR RIGHT TO DO.
UH, RATHER THAN DOING THAT, WE WOULD ACCEPT, UH, SUPPORT AND THE LOVE FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND ALSO, UM, BE OPEN ABOUT THE NATURE OF THIS TRAGEDY THAT NOT ONLY, UH, DID OUR DAUGHTER DIE, BUT SHE, UH, SHE HAD MENTAL ILLNESS AND SHE TOOK HER OWN LIFE.
UM, THIS, UH, I BASICALLY HAS SET ME ON A COURSE AS WELL BECAUSE, UH, OF BEING ABLE TO, UH, HAVE THE WHEREWITHAL WITH SOME HELP FROM A LOT OF PEOPLE TO, UM, BRING ATTENTION TO, UH, MENTAL HEALTH BY, UH, PUTTING ON AN EVENT THAT, UH, WAS VERY SPECIAL, UH, VERY SPECIAL FOR
[02:05:01]
MY FAMILY, AND VERY SPECIAL FOR, UH, THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS MEADOW'S FRIENDS, UH, AND, UH, A LOT OF ANDERSON HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE SHE WENT TO SCHOOL.UM, IF I COULD GET TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY SKIP TO THE NEXT ONE AFTER THAT.
UM, SO BASICALLY THIS WAS MEADOW FEST, UH, UH, MULTIPLE BANDS.
UM, I WAS SO LUCKY TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF, UH, SO MANY PEOPLE, SOME PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM, UH, BETO MARTINEZ, GREG GONZALEZ, UH, NELSON PEDRO WITH A FAR OUT LOUNGE.
THAT'S WHERE THIS WAS HELD, UM, UH, JAINA AND SOME OTHER PROMINENT MUSICIANS IN AUSTIN, WHO I CALL FRIENDS.
AND THEN MY FRIEND ADRIAN LAKE.
UM, IT WAS VERY HELPFUL AS WELL.
UH, WE PUT THIS TOGETHER IN, UH, A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
THIS WAS LIKE FOUR MONTHS, AND, UH, IT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT, UH, THE HELP OF A, A LOT OF PEOPLE WORKING TOGETHER.
UH, I INITIALLY RAISED MONEY JUST USING GOFUNDME.
IT WAS SUGGESTED BY, UH, SEVERAL PEOPLE THAT I WENT THAT ROUTE.
UM, I, I REALLY WANTED TO TRY TO FIND AS MUCH SPONSORSHIP FUNDING AS POSSIBLE.
UM, BUT THIS WAS MOSTLY INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS.
UH, I RAISED 40,000 THROUGH GOFUNDME.
UM, I HAD GOTTEN SEVEN BANDS, UH, TO SIGN ON FOR THIS, IN WHICH WE PAID THEM AN HONORARIUM PAY, UM, AND GROUP OF FMAS AT THE, THE TOP OF THAT, UH, THAT LIST, UH, MULTIPLE SPEAKERS FROM DIFFERENT MENTAL HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS, UH, IN, IN AUSTIN, UH, WERE, UH, REPRESENTED AT THE EVENT.
AND TABLED KUT, UH, SPONSORED THE EVENT, VERY FORTUNATE FOR THAT.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET, UH, ABOUT 915 PEOPLE TO COME TO THE EVENT.
UM, THE EVENT ITSELF RAISED ANOTHER $40,000, 20,000, UH, FOR SIMS FOUNDATION, 20,000 FOR OUT YOUTH AUSTIN.
AND, YOU KNOW, BEING JUST AN INDIVIDUAL DOING THIS, THOSE TWO ORGANIZATIONS WERE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE THEY REFLECTED, UH, MY DAUGHTER MEADOW, WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE LGBTQIA A PLUS COMMUNITY, UH, AND ALSO A MUSICIAN.
SO IT WAS VERY APPROPRIATE, UH, BUT THAT WAS DISCRETIONARY ON, UH, MY PART.
I WANTED TO BENEFIT IMMEDIATELY BENEFIT TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT REFLECTED MY DAUGHTER.
UH, AS I MENTIONED, THE, THIS IS KIND OF A LIST OF, OF, UH, OF ISSUES AND THINGS THAT, THAT I WILL KEEP IN MIND FOR, FOR, UH, THIS YEAR, UH, FOUR MONTHS TO ORGANIZE AND, AND MARKET.
NO OFFICIAL MANAGING ENTITY, UH, JUST ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL.
UH, THE EVENT COSTS ENDED UP BEING VAST MAJORITY INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS VERSUS SPONSORSHIP.
AND GRANTS JUST KIND OF RAN OUT OF TIME FOR, FOR A LOT OF THAT.
AND THEN MUSICAL LINEUP OPTIONS WERE LIMITED.
I, I DID APPROACH SEVERAL BANDS THAT JUST COULDN'T FIT IT IN THEIR SCHEDULE BECAUSE THEY WERE ALREADY BOOKED, UH, WHICH IS TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE.
UH, SO THIS IS THE 5 0 1 C3, UH, THAT I'VE, THAT'S IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW, THE MEADOW E GOODMAN FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS.
I FELT THAT IN ORDER FOR ME TO DO THIS EFFECTIVELY, I NEEDED TO HAVE A NONPROFIT AS A MANAGING ENTITY.
UH, I ALSO WANTED TO GIVE SPONSORS, UH, FOR THE EVENT, UH, SOME SORT OF PEACE OF MIND ABOUT THAT THEIR, THEIR MONEY WAS GONNA GO TO AN OR TO AN ORGANIZATION THAT HAD A BOARD, UM, AND, AND, AND WASN'T JUST ME.
UH, AND I'M LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A, IT IS A VERY SMALL BOARD.
MY FATHER, BARRY GOODMAN, WHO'S A, A BUSINESS ACUMEN, IS, UH, UNMATCHED, UH, AND, UH, IS ONE OF MY, UH, UH, ADVISORS AND MENTORS.
UH, AND THEN DAVID SCHNEIDER, WHO, UH, WORKED FOR, UH, EASTERSEALS AND, UH, UH, MANY OF YOU KNOW, DAVID, UH, GREAT GUY.
UH, AND HIS DAUGHTER, UH, WAS, UH, ONE OF MEADOW'S REALLY GOOD FRIENDS.
AND, UM, SO THIS HAS PERSONALLY HIT HIT HIM AND HIS FAMILY.
SO, UH, MEADOW FEST 2025 IS, UH, SET FOR AUGUST 23RD, 2025 AT THE FAR OUT LOUNGE.
AND, UH, WE'RE SEEKING, UH, FUNDING TO, TO SUPPORT THE EVENT, UH, HOPEFULLY IN, IN A WAY THAT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO RAISE, UH, A LOT MORE AWARENESS, UH, A LOT MORE FUNDS.
UM, A A BRIEF THING I WANNA SAY, REGARDING, UH, THE MEADOW E GOODMAN FOUNDATION, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANNA DO, JUST TO KEEP THINGS AS EQUITABLE AS POSSIBLE,
[02:10:01]
UH, IS TO HAVE, UH, ENTITIES THAT ARE, UH, THAT ARE, THAT, THAT FIT THE, THE, THE PARADIGM OF, OF MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS, SUICIDE AWARENESS, UH, PARTICULARLY LOCAL ENT ENTITIES, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, IN A SOFT WAY, COMPETE FOR THESE FUNDS.UM, I, I, IT'S GOING TO TAKE PROBABLY LONGER THAN, UH, THE AMOUNT OF TIME I HAVE FOR THIS.
UH, BUT I, I, I'M HOPING THAT OVER THE COURSE OF DOING THIS, UM, WE'LL DEVELOP A, A, A MORE COMPREHENSIVE GRANT APPLICATION THAT THESE ENTITIES CAN, UH, FILL OUT.
UH, I THINK FOR THIS, UH, WE'LL HAVE A SIMPLE JUST QUALIFYING APPLICATION AND THEN DO INTERVIEWS, UH, YOU KNOW, BASED ON A COMMITTEE, UH, TO DETERMINE WHO IS, UH, HAS THE GREATEST NEED FOR FUNDING AND WHO'S DOING THE GREATEST GOOD WITH RESPECT TO MENTAL HEALTH.
SO, UM, THE NEED FOR THIS EVENT, LIKE IT WAS LAST YEAR, VENUE FEES, UH, PRODUCTION FEES, SOUND AND LIGHTING, BAND COMPENSATION, HONORARIUMS. I, I'M NOT ASKING BANDS TO, TO DONATE THEIR SERVICES FOR THIS.
UH, THEY, THE, THE REASON WHY PEOPLE COME TO THESE EVENTS IS BECAUSE OF THE, THE MUSIC.
AND WE HAD A FANTASTIC LINEUP LAST YEAR.
IT WAS, UH, I WAS JUST ABSOLUTELY BLESSED WITH THE BEST MUSICIANS AND, AND BANDS IN TOWN.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA BE ABLE TO, TO COMPENSATE THEM.
THE OTHER THING I'VE ASKED BANDS TO DO, WELL, I DID THIS LAST YEAR.
GRUPO WAS, UH, IN PARTICULAR WAS, UH, EXTREMELY GENEROUS, UH, WITH THIS.
BUT, UH, UH, I, IT'S COMPLETELY AT THEIR OPTION IF THEY WANT TO DONATE BACK TO, UH, THE EVENT, TO THE TWO BENEFICIARIES IN THE, IN, IN THE CASE OF 2024, THE TWO BENEFICIARIES, UM, OUT YOUTH AND, AND SIMS, UH, THEY HAVE EVERY OPTION TO DO THAT, AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT.
AND I THINK RUPO NOT ONLY DID THAT, BUT ADDED MORE TO THAT, WHICH IT WAS AMAZING.
UH, ALSO, UH, I, I WOULD, I DID A RAFFLE AND, AND, UH, SLASH AUCTION THAT HELPED GENERATE SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
PEOPLE, UH, GAVE US THINGS TO AUCTION OFF.
UM, I, I WOULD LIKE TO DO THIS BETTER.
I ACTUALLY WAS IN CHARGE OF THIS, AND I HAD NO BUSINESS BEING IN CHARGE OF THIS BECAUSE I WAS SO BUSY DOING EVERYTHING ELSE.
SO I'M HOPING TO GET, UH, SOME VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH THAT.
AND THEN, UM, AND MARKETING, WHICH I THINK IS VERY IMPORTANT.
UH, CLEARLY HAVING THIS AS A OFFICIAL KUT EVENT LAST YEAR WAS JUST, UH, IT WAS, IT WAS VERY BENEFICIAL TO THE EVENT.
AND WE'RE HOPING THAT WE'LL GET THAT AGAIN, UM, FOR THIS ONE.
SO, BUT THAT'S BASICALLY, THAT'S BASICALLY IT.
UM, AND I REALLY THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
AND I'M, I'M HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND, AND THANK YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, AND THANK YOU.
I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WAITING THROUGH A LOT OF OTHER PRESENTATIONS, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.
UM, SO YEAH, I, I DIDN'T ATTEND LAST YEAR, BUT I HEARD ALL GOOD THINGS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE EVENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY VERY, SUCH A BEAUTIFUL THING TO COME OUT OF SUCH A UNIMAGINABLE TRAGEDY.
AND I REALLY COMMEND YOU ON PUTTING YOUR ENERGIES TOWARDS SUPPORTING MENTAL HEALTH IN AUSTIN.
UM, PEDRO, I WAS GONNA TOSS IT TO YOU BECAUSE WE HAVE PEDRO FROM THE FAR OUT LOUNGE.
DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANTED TO SAY? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY, GREG.
UM, WAS REALLY HAPPY TO EVEN BE AROUND THE EVENT AND WAS REALLY, REALLY HAPPY THAT IT WAS AT THE PLACE THAT I WORK AT.
AND, AND THANKS FOR THINKING OF US.
UM, YOU'RE CHAMPIONING FOR A BUNCH OF CAUSES AT THE SAME TIME, WHILE DEALING WITH ALL THIS OTHER STUFF AT THE SAME TIME, WHICH MAKES YOU A PRETTY AWESOME HERO IN MY BOOK.
UM, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR COMING IN AND PRESENTING THIS.
AND I THINK IF I COULD DO ANYTHING TO HELP YOU FIND FUNDS FOR THIS OR TO BE, UM, OF ANY VALUE TO YOU, I, I'D LOVE TO.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE IN OUR AUDIENCE, BUT I KNOW THAT LOTS OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY DO WATCH MUSIC COMMISSION MEETINGS.
'CAUSE I GET, UH, I GET TEXTS LATER.
UM, SOME OF THEM NICE AND SOME OF THEM AREN'T ALWAYS.
BUT, UH, FOR THIS, I AM, I KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE INTEREST.
AND SO I JUST WANNA REITERATE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF WHAT, UM, WHAT PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY CAN DO TO SUPPORT THIS.
SO, UM, FUNDRAISING IS ALWAYS A BIG PART OF ANY EVENT LIKE THIS.
UM, ALSO I WOULD SAY IF, YOU KNOW, IF THERE ARE ANY, UM, MUSICAL ARTISTS THAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, THIS IS THE PERFECT TIME TO,
[02:15:01]
TO REACH OUT.UM, VOLUNTEERS ARE ALWAYS SO MUCH NEEDED, SO MUCH, MANY, MANY HOURS THAT IT TAKES TO, TO PUT ON AN EVENT LIKE THIS.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, DONATIONS OF RAFFLE, UH, AUCTION ITEMS. UM, SO GREG, IF SOMEBODY WANTED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU, THEY SHOULD REACH OUT TO THE FOUNDATION.
WELL, AND I HAVE, I'M VERY QUICKLY TRYING TO SET UP THAT WEBSITE WHILE THIS IS IN PROCESS.
UM, I CAN GIVE MY PERSONAL EMAIL.
I HAVE TO SPELL THIS BECAUSE IT'S, AND YES, I'M A BASS PLAYER, SO OFF BASE, O-F-F-B-A-S S@GMAIL.COM IS MY VERY UNPROFESSIONAL
I DO HAVE A DO, UH, I DO HAVE A COUPLE DOMAIN NAMES FOR, UH, MEADOW FEST, A TX, WHICH IS, IS COMING, AND FOR A WEBSITE TO, UH, BE HOSTED WITH THAT.
AND THEN, UM, UH, MEADOW E GOODMAN FOUNDATION IS PROBABLY GONNA BE SHORTENING THE MEG MEG FOUNDATION.
UM, STILL WORKING ON, ON THAT.
I HAVE A COUPLE DOMAINS FOR THAT AS WELL.
THIS SHOULD ALL BE UP WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.
UM, I ALSO HAVE SEVERAL BUSINESSES AND I'M, YOU KNOW, A FAMILY MAN AS YOU'VE GATHERED.
SO IT, IS IT, THE CAPACITY THAT I HAVE IS, I'M, I'M DEF DEFINITELY, UH, UH, A VERY BUSY PERSON.
UH, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO ME, AND I WILL HAVE IT, HAVE SOME, UH, PROFESSIONAL STUFF MM-HMM.
UH, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR MAYBE STAFF OR THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
IS THERE ANY, UH, ANY WAY TO TAP INTO HOT FUNDS FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS? IS THERE DOLLARS AVAILABLE TO HELP THIS? CAUSE HELLO, ERICA SHAMLEY, ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION MANAGER HERE.
UM, SO MEADOW FEST WITH THE 5 0 1 C WILL BE A AVAIL, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR CULTURAL ARTS FUNDING, WHICH WILL OPEN UP IN THE FALL.
I MEAN, UM, THAT PROBABLY WOULDN'T HELP YOU FOR THIS NEXT EVENT, BUT FOR THE NEXT EVENT, UNFORTUNATELY, THE LIVE MUSIC FUND IS, UH, SINCE YOU'RE A NONPROFIT, NONPROFITS HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAM.
BUT I KNOW THAT, UM, I MEAN, THERE ARE WAYS THAT YOU CAN ALSO TALK TO CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR, YOU KNOW, THAT HAVE THEIR OWN BUDGETS AS WELL.
AND, UH, TALK TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER.
I MEAN, THERE'S, I SAY, 'CAUSE I'VE RAISED MONEY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, YOU KNOW, SHAKE EVERY TREE.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF ACTUAL FUNDS THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR HOT, IT WOULD BE THROUGH THOSE, UM, GUIDELINE FOCUSED PROGRAMS. AND, UM, AND I'LL THINK ON WHO IN THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, THAT I COULD LIKE GUIDE YOU TO ALSO FOR FUNDRAISING.
UM, PEDRO HAD HIS HAND UP TOO, SO, YEAH.
IS THERE A RECOMMENDATION WE CAN MAKE TO CITY COUNCIL? OR IS, ARE WE JUST OVERREACHING HERE? I, I, SURE.
I MEAN, UH, THE COMMISSION CAN MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU WANT TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, BUT THE, YOU DEFINITELY WANT TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS, UH, THROUGH THE MAYOR AND THROUGH YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU'VE LET US KNOW.
AND, UM, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THE CITY NEEDS AN ENDOWMENT, YOU KNOW, FOR SO MANY OTHER THINGS THAT NEED TO BE PAID FOR, THAT NEED TO GET FUNDING IN ORDER FOR THIS TO HAPPEN.
AND SO, UM, I'LL ALSO JUST THINK ON IT, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY OF WHO IN THE COMMUNITY IS A GOOD, UH, TARGET FOR ASKING FOR FUNDS.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S DEFINITELY GET YOUR WEBSITE UP.
UH, AND THAT, I THINK THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT.
UH, AND I, I ALSO WANNA MENTION THAT, UH, UH, MAYOR WATSON AND, UM, IT'S COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, I BELIEVE THAT REPRESENTED THE DISTRICT.
UH, DECLARED, UH, THAT DATE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS THE 24TH, AUGUST 24TH AS, UH, UM, UH, MEADOW E GOODMAN.
MEADOW GOODMAN MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS DAY.
UH, THAT REALLY WAS, WAS A WONDERFUL THING.
AND I THINK THAT THAT HELPED TOO.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, I AM NOT SHY ABOUT REACHING OUT TO PEOPLE,
UH, BUT I MEAN, YOUR POINT IS VERY WELL TAKEN.
UM, AND I, I JUST, I REALLY FIRST AND FOREMOST WANTED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, YOU KNOW, PRESENT THIS, UH, TO THE MUSIC COMMISSION SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE FOR, FOR FUNDING, VOLUNTEERS, ET CETERA, THAT I THINK FEEL LIKE THERE'S A GREAT PLACE TO START.
WELL, UH, AND WE WILL PUT OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANYONE ELSE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY
[02:20:01]
THAT WE COULD REFER YOU TO, WE CERTAINLY WILL.IT'S, UH, I REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT THE EVENT AS WELL.
AND, UM, WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU, THAT WOULD MEAN WE'RE HERE FOR YOU.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BEING AN ARTIST, UH, THAT PERFORMED, UH, AT METALFEST, UH, I SAID WAS A WONDERFUL, UH, UH, EVENT.
AND, UH, YOU HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, I DON'T WANNA FORGET, UH, YOU HAD MENTIONED A WAYS TO CONTACT, BUT IS THERE A SOCIAL MEDIA, MAYBE SOMETHING A LITTLE EASIER TO REMEMBER IF WE SHARE WITH FOLKS? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING ON, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA, INSTAGRAM? I DON'T HAVE A SEPARATE INSTAGRAM FOR META.
IT, IT'S, IT'S A GLARING ISSUE THAT I, I'M GOING TO TIE UP WITHIN THE NEXT, UH, FEW WEEKS.
UM, YOU MIGHT, I DID IT, IT, THIS IS WHY I, THIS FOUNDATION WAS STARTED MM-HMM
UM, I, I NEEDED TO HAVE SOMETHING OFFICIAL THAT, THAT, THAT RAN THIS.
I, I, AND, AND AT THE TIME, I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS GOING TO BE AN ANNUAL EVENT, WHICH I SURE I WOULD LOVE IT TO BE AN ANNUAL EVENT.
UM, I, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GONNA HAVE THE SUCCESS IT WAS GOING TO HAVE, UM, IN THE SENSE THAT, THAT THERE, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE ATTENDING.
WE WERE ABLE TO RAISE THE MONEY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RAISE.
UM, AND I FEEL LIKE WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED.
UH, SO, UM, BUT YES, I, I'M, I ABSOLUTELY, UH, WILL HAVE THE DOMAIN NAMES, WILL HAVE THE, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE INSTA THE SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLE FACEBOOK.
I'LL, I'LL CERTAINLY GET BACK TO THIS BODY ON, ON WHEN ALL THAT
THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT, YOU MENTIONED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES.
SO YEAH, MAN, IF WE CAN, UH, GET MORE INFORMATION ON, THAT'D BE GREAT.
I KNOW, DEFINITELY I'LL BE VOLUNTEERING.
UM, AND, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY, UH, HAVE, AND A LOT OF FOLKS, UH, I'M SURE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, SO LET'S KNOW ABOUT THAT.
AND I MEAN, SO MANY GREAT AUSTIN INSTITUTIONS AND EVENTS START IN THIS SAME WAY WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST, YOU KNOW, REALLY DEDICATED AND, AND IT COULD, YOU KNOW, THE EFFORT COMES FROM THE HEART INITIALLY, AND THEN ALL THE OTHER THINGS BUILD UP AROUND IT.
SO, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE AND TELLING US ABOUT THIS.
AND, UM, I KNOW THAT WE'LL WANNA BE, OH, VOLLEY, DID YOU HAVE A THING? DID, DID I SEE YOUR HAND UP? WE MIGHT HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT.
UM, WELL, GREG, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UM, I'M, I'M REALLY SORRY FOR YOUR PROFOUND LOSS AND JUST HAVE NOTHING BUT ADMIRATION FOR, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST HAVING THE GRACIOUSNESS AND, AND WHEREWITH ALL TO, YOU KNOW, DO WHAT YOU'RE DOING, UH, UM, WITH THIS.
UM, I THINK SOMETHING LIKE SIMS THERE IS, THERE IS A TREMENDOUS NEED IN THE MUSIC COMMUNITY.
UH, SO ALSO REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT WITH START, UH, FOR THE MUSIC COMMUNITY.
UH, I THINK, UM, I HAD MY HAND UP EARLIER, BUT I THINK, UH, ERICA ADDRESSED, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE DYNAMICS AROUND THE GRANTS, UM, THE CULTURAL ARTS GRANTS COMING UP, UH, POTENTIALLY IN AUGUST AS FAR AS THE HOT TAX AND IMMEDIATE CITY GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR GO WOULD BE THE BEST.
UH, THERE'S, THERE'S AN ELEVATE GRANT OR HOWEVER THAT SHAPES OF THIS YEAR WOULD BE THE BEST AVENUE TO GET, YOU KNOW, UH, GRANTS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AS OF TODAY FROM THE CITY.
AND, UM, OF COURSE, ANY, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST KIND OF INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED AROUND THAT, AS WE GET CLOSER, ONCE THOSE BECOME AVAILABLE, UH, I'M SURE ANY, ANY ONE OF US WOULD BE, WOULD EASILY VOLUNTEER TO, UH, PROVIDE YOU THAT INFORMATION.
UM, GOOD, GREAT TO KNOW THAT THE MAYOR, UM, AND COUNCIL IS ALSO AWARE OF THIS, UM, BUILDING UP TO ALMOST A THOUSAND FOLKS IN YEAR ONE IS, UH, IS NO MEAN TASK, BUT SO MUCH GOING ON IN THE CITY.
SO OBVIOUSLY IT SPEAKS A LOT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE HAVE ORGANIZED AND BUILD THIS ALREADY.
A LOT OF COMMON FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES, ADRIAN, DAVID AND OTHERS.
UM, SO YEAH, UH, FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK FOR GRANTS PERSPECTIVE, UH, ELEVATE IN WITHIN THE ARTS, UH, GRANTS IS WHAT SEEMS LIKE, UM, UH, POTENTIALLY THE BEST OPTION TO GO WITH.
BUT THANK YOU, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND I DID WANNA JUST SAY REALLY QUICK THAT THE NEXUS PROGRAM, THE CULTURAL ARTS GRANT PROGRAM, NEXUS CLOSES ON MARCH 6TH.
IS THAT FRIDAY? I THINK IT'S THURSDAY.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THAT'S A BIG TURNAROUND, BUT IT'S A $5,000 GRANT.
IT'S PRETTY COMPETITIVE, BUT THERE'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S OPEN THAT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR.
[7. Revisiting budget recommendation to form a “Stormy Weather Fund” to feasibly administer micro-grants to musicians who have lost wages due to city-wide extreme weather related closure. ]
ITEM SEVEN, UH, THIS PRESENTATION ON THE STORMY WEATHER FUND, UM,[02:25:01]
OUR JUST RECENT PAST COMMISSIONER, UH, LAUREN GOULD, UH, WANTED TO TALK WITH US ABOUT THIS ITEM.UH, BUT SHE IS ACTUALLY ON THE ROAD, SO WE'LL CIRCLE BACK TO THIS IN A FUTURE MEETING WHEN, UM, LAUREN'S AVAILABLE.
SO I'LL COORDINATE WITH HER ON HER SCHEDULE.
UM, AND THEN THE NEXT COUPLE OF ITEMS ARE BOTH FOR ME, UH, AND I'LL BE QUICK 'CAUSE I KNOW WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING DOWN TO ABOUT THE LAST 20 MINUTES HERE.
[8. Update on Short Term Rental regulation and Austin Convention Center expansion from Land Use Working Group by Vice Chair Patterson. ]
JOINT ARTS AND MUSIC LAND USE WORKING GROUP, UH, A COUPLE OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON HAVE BEEN THE SHORT, SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGULATION AND, UH, THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER EXPANSION.SO A COUPLE OF QUICK UPDATES ON THOSE.
UM, I DID TALK ABOUT SHORT-TERM RENTALS A LITTLE BIT IN THE LAST MEETING.
SO, UH, STAFF HAS PRESENTED, UM, A SET OF, UM, PROPOSED REGULATIONS THAT WOULD HELP WITH BETTER LICENSURE, YOU KNOW, CAPTURING A LOT OF THE, UM, CURRENTLY ILLEGALLY OPERATING SHORT TERM RENTALS, WHICH ARE REALLY THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF SHORT TERM RENTALS IN AUSTIN.
AND, UH, THERE'S ALSO REGULATIONS, UH, ABOUT SOME OF THAT WOULD BE WORKING WITH THE PLATFORMS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE PLATFORMS ONLY LIST, YOU KNOW, IF THE, IF A, IF A UNIT HAS A VALID LICENSE NUMBER.
UH, THERE'S REG PROPOSED REGULATION, UM, AROUND, UM, HOW MANY SHORT-TERM RENTALS A SINGLE OWNER CAN HAVE.
AND THAT'S BASICALLY KIND OF DISTANCE BASED.
UM, SO THEY HAVE TO BE A THOUSAND FEET APART, OR IF THEY'RE IN A MULTI-FAMILY UNIT, THIS PROPOSAL IS THAT, UM, THEY WOULD HAVE NO MORE THAN ON, NO MORE THAN 25% OF THE UNITS THEY OWN IN A MULTI-FAMILY, UM, PROPERTY COULD BE SHORT-TERM RENTALS FROM THE, BUT THAT'S ALL FROM THE SAME OWNER.
SO THAT COULD STILL BE MULTIPLE SHORT-TERM RENTALS IN A PROPERTY.
BUT THE, THE NUMBER OF THAT THAT AN OWNER COULD OWN, COULD OPERATES LIMITED.
UM, AND SO THERE'S BEEN SOME OTHER GOOD THINGS ABOUT THIS, ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH NUISANCE COMPLAINTS.
ALL OF THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR THE MUSIC COMMISSION BECAUSE, UM, THESE UNLICENSED SHORT-TERM RENTALS DO NOT PAY INTO THEIR CITY PORTION OF THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES THAT GOES UNCOLLECTED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS LEFT ON THE TABLE FOR ARTS AND MUSIC.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR WORKING GROUP HELPED, UH, WELL, WE WORKED WITH A WORKING GROUP FROM TOURISM AND HELPED DEVELOP SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THE THREE COMMISSIONS, ARTS, MUSIC, TOURISM SET VOTED ON RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE SENT UP TO COUNCIL STAFF WORKED ON THIS, SO EVERYTHING WAS GOING GREAT.
UH, BUT WE'VE HAD A BIT OF A RECORD SCRATCH, UM, MOMENT RELATED TO THE LEGISLATURE.
UH, THERE'S BEEN A PAIR OF BILLS FILED, ONE IN THE HOUSE AND ONE IN THE SENATE.
AND, UM, ESSENTIALLY THEY PROHIBIT A MUNICIPALITY, OR I THINK EVEN A COUNTY FROM REGULATING AN ONLINE, A GLOBAL ONLINE MARKETPLACE.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S LIKE THE AIRBNBS WOULD BE, WOULD FALL UNDER THAT.
OBVIOUSLY IT'S A VERY, VERY BROAD, BUT, UM, MAYOR WATSON HAS ASKED, UH, THAT THE, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL POSTPONE ANY VOTES ON THE PROPOSED REGULATION UNTIL WE ALL HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GONNA, UM, PASS THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE WITH THIS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THE AUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER, UH, THEY, THE EXPANSION TEAM GAVE A, UH, PRESENTATION TO CITY COUNCIL AT THE END OF LAST MONTH.
SO, UM, IT, UH, OR YEAH, IN WORK SESSIONS, SO, YEAH, I, IT LOOKS GORGEOUS.
UM, AND ONE THING THAT THEY NOTED THAT THEY, THEY DO WANNA SUPPORT ARTS AND MUSIC.
UM, I THINK WE NEED TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT REALLY LOOKS LIKE.
THERE WILL BE THERE, THERE IS AN INVESTMENT, A MILLIONS INVESTED IN PUBLIC ART FOR THE NEW CONVENTION CENTER.
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW, YOU KNOW, MUSIC PROMOTION CAN BETTER BE A PART OF THE PLANNING THERE AND, YOU KNOW, PERFORMANCE POTENTIALLY.
AND SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THE WORKING GROUP HAD RECOMMENDED.
SO THEY, UM, THE EXPANSION TEAM HAS, IS DOING COMMUNITY OUTREACH, AND THEY, UM, HAVE, HAVE, AT, AT OUR SUGGESTION FROM THE WORKING GROUP, HAVE
[02:30:01]
OFFERED TO HAVE A, A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SESSION THAT'S SPECIFICALLY FOR THE ARTS AND MUSIC COMMUNITIES.SO THAT SHOULD BE HAPPENING IN APRIL.
AND ONCE I HAVE A DATE, I'LL SHARE THAT WITH EVERYONE, BUT I ASSUME THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MANY PEOPLE ON THE COMMISSION WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THAT MEETING.
SO WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.
UH, OKAY, SO THAT'S ITEM EIGHT.
[9. Discuss revising special event permitting to include a lower-cost, streamlined tier for smaller community-organized events. ]
ITEM NINE.UM, THERE WE'VE HAD IN VARIOUS FORMS, UH, DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HOW TO HANDLE SPECIAL EVENT PER PERMITTING, UM, SO THAT IT IS, UH, AN EASIER AND POTENTIALLY LESS EXPENSIVE PROCESS FOR SMALL, UH, FESTIVALS, COMMUNITY GROUPS WHEN THEY'RE USING.
SO THIS IS FOR OUTDOOR SPACE PARK SPACE.
UM, AND SO A LOT OF THAT IS GOING TO BE, UM, UP FOR DISCUSSION WITH THE NEW OFFICE OF ARTS, CULTURAL ARTS, CULTURE OF MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
SO, UM, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING DEFINITIVE TO SAY TODAY, BUT I DID HAVE A, A LONG, UM, CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN BLOCK WHO HANDLES A LOT OF THE PERMITTING ABOUT HOW, YOU KNOW, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF EXCITING POSSIBILITIES HERE.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE DIRECTOR MEANS AND OTHER FOLKS IN THE DEPARTMENT TO MAKE IT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF AN EASIER LIFT FOR CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, FOR COMMUNITY GROUPS TO, TO HOST, UM, FESTIVALS AND OTHER EVENTS.
AND ESPECIALLY FROM THE MUSIC PERSPECTIVE, LIKE WE, I SEE THAT AS A WAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE PERMITTING FEES ARE LOWER IF THERE'S A LIVE MUSIC COMPONENT, PERHAPS, LIKE THEY CAN INVEST THAT MONEY BACK INTO PAYING THE BANDS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN SOME SMALL FESTIVALS, I MEAN, WE'VE JUST, YOU KNOW, HEARD FROM, FROM A SMALL, ESSENTIALLY PROMOTER, LIKE, WE KNOW THESE THINGS CAN GROW, THEY CAN BECOME TOURISM DRIVERS.
UM, SO I THINK THAT, THAT ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, SORT OF A, A SECOND TIER OF PERMITTING THAT'S LESS EXPENSIVE FOR SMALLER GROUPS CAN JUST REALLY REPRESENT, UH, ECONOMIC INVESTMENT.
SO KIND OF BLEW THROUGH TWO DIFFERENT ITEMS. UM, IF ANYBODY HAS, WERE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT? I THINK ALL OF THAT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, AND A LOT OF IT IS LIKE, INFORMATION TO COME AS WE WAIT TO HEAR BACK FROM THE LEGISLATURE AND TALK MORE WITH ACME AND SO ON.
[10. Update from the Austin Live Music Fund Working Group on Live Music Fund by Chair Nagavalli Medicharla.]
ON TO ITEM 10, WORKING GROUP UPDATE.UH, SO WE TOUCHED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER IN THE MEETING, AND, UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO NAVAL TO TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE LIVE MUSIC FUND WORKING GROUP.
I, UM, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER PATTERSON.
UM, WE, UM, GAVE OUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE LAST WORKING GROUP, UM, THAT HAD SOME COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AS WELL AS COMMISSIONERS FROM THIS, UM, FROM THE MUSIC COMMISSION.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE IDEAS WAS EITHER TO KIND OF REALLY, UM, CLOSE THE WORKING GROUP OUT, BUT GIVEN, UM, THE WHAT HAS COME UP IN TODAY'S COMMISSION, MY SUGGESTION WOULD BE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO FORM A NEW WORKING GROUP, JUST CONTINUE THIS WORKING GROUP, UM, I THINK SOME FOLKS CAN GO IN AND OUT, LIKE I SAID, AND, UH, I WOULD, I MEAN, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON, I DON'T, UH, I MEAN, YOUR, YOUR CALL ABSOLUTELY, BUT, UH, PERHAPS YOU COULD, YOU COULD GET INTO THE MIX AND, UH, CHAIR THIS WORKING GROUP.
UM, I, I CHAIRED THE WORKING GROUP IN THE FIRST ROUND OF RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AS I DID ON THE OUTSIDE AS WELL.
AND, UM, EITHER IN CONTINUATION OR FORMING A NEW WORKING GROUP, I'M HANDING THAT OVER TO, TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
SO IF, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO TAKE THAT ROLE ON, UM, I THINK THEN WE COULD, UM, WE MET WEEKLY, UH, AND WE COULD DO THE SAME SO THAT THERE IS SOME EXPERIENCE AROUND THIS AS WELL, UH, THAT IT'S BEING DONE, UM, YOU KNOW, ON A REGULAR, UH, THE CONVERSATIONS ARE BEING HAD ON A REGULAR BASIS, AND THEN WE COME BACK WITH SOMETHING IN THE NEXT MEETING AS A RESPONSE, UH, TO, UM, WHAT, UM, ERICA SHARED TODAY WITH HER UPDATES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, UH, GIVE SOME FEEDBACK ON THAT.
SO WITH THAT, I MEAN, YEAH, YOU COULD HAVE A MAXIMUM OF FIVE COMMISSIONERS.
UH, WE COULD, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER HAVE IT THAT WAY IF YOU WANNA BRING IN SOME NEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WE COULD.
BUT, UM, EVEN SINCE, SINCE WE ALREADY PROVIDED OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, IF, IF THE COMMISSION WANTS TO COME BACK AND GIVE, UH, UH, UH, SOME FEEDBACK ON THE NEW LATEST, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVIDED, WE COULD DO THAT.
UM, SO YEAH, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S MY SUGGESTION IS, IS TO SEE, WE CAN HAVE UP TO FIVE COMMISSIONERS WHO'S INTERESTED.
I CAN, UM, STEP OUT OF THE GROUP.
WHAT I WOULD REQUEST IS, UM, HAVE AT LEAST ONE OR TWO FOLKS
[02:35:01]
IN THERE FROM THE LAST GROUP FOR CONTINUITY.UM, SO IF, UH, COMMISSIONER CARVAL WHO AND COMMISSIONER PRICE WANT TO CONTINUE, UM, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT.
AND SO WE ARE NOT TRYING TO BUILD SOMETHING ANEW, UH, BUT JUST ESSENTIALLY TAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAD AND, AND WHAT ERICA PRESENTED AND BUILD ON THAT BASICALLY.
SO, UH, I'LL STOP THERE, UM, THOUGHTS AND OTHERWISE, IF THERE'S INTEREST FOR THE COMMISSIONERS, WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHO MOVES THIS FORWARD.
I MEAN, I'D HAPPILY GIVE UP MY SPACE SO THAT YOU CAN STAY ON IT.
YOU WERE SUCH A BIG PART OF IT HAPPENING LAST TIME, SO IF THERE'S ROOM, I'LL STAY.
IF NOT, I, I THINK IT, IF YOU WANT TO STAY, I THINK YOU SHOULD.
I SAID THIS GROUP IS SO MUSHY.
SO, UM, YEAH, I MEAN, REALLY THE WAY THERE IS A NEED TO LIKE DO A SESSION AND SET A REALLY BROAD, SORRY, IF, IF JUST, JUST REALLY, UM, HONE IN ON WHERE EACH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS CAME FROM.
I CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT AS WELL AND THEN STEP OUT IF THAT'S, THAT'S HELPFUL.
UM, BUT YEAH, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW WHO ELSE WOULD BE INTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE.
WELL, I WOULD SUGGEST, OH, TAMMY'S GOT HER HA HAND UP.
TAMMY, DID YOU HAVE A SUGGESTION OR ARE YOU VOLUNTEERING FOR THIS WORKING GROUP? I THINK SHE'S VOLUNTEERING.
UM, JUST VOLUNTEERING TO BE PART OF THE GROUP.
UM, WELL, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S GREAT TO HAVE CONTINUITY WITH THE GROUP MEMBERS.
UM, I DON'T THINK I'D BE THE BEST PERSON TO SHARE IT BECAUSE I WASN'T IN THE GROUP BEFORE, SO I DON'T WANNA TAKE UP BANDWIDTH OF EVERYBODY HAVING TO GO BACK OVER, UM, LIKE WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED.
BUT I DO HAVE A OPINION ABOUT WHAT'S, WHAT COULD BE NEXT FOR THE GROUP, WHICH I REALLY WOULD SEE THIS AS MAYBE, UM, IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE A TON OF MEETINGS.
I MEAN, MEAN YOU HAVE THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU HAVE THIS, THIS SUGGESTIONS THROUGH STAFF.
SO I THINK LOOKING, UM, THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO LOOK AT WHAT STAFF HAS RECOMMENDED.
THEY'RE ASKING SPECIFICALLY HOW TO WAIT, UM, THEIR SCORING.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE TASK I THINK.
UM, AND THERE MAY BE SOME ITEMS I THINK THAT, THAT WERE POINTED OUT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE HOME AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT, UM, COULD BE DISCUSSED AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THEY SERVE THE INTENDED PURPOSES.
SO IT MAY BE A, A MATTER OF, UM, YOU KNOW, REDLINING SOME THINGS, REORDERING PRIORITIES AND SCORING.
SO I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE IT COULD PROBABLY BE, AND ALSO GATHERING, GATHERING FEEDBACK FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSION AFTER WE'VE HAD A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH THESE.
SO I'M FEEL LIKE MAYBE IT'S JUST TWO OR THREE MORE MEETINGS.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, YOU HAVE UNTIL, IS ERICA SUGGESTED UNTIL MAY, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT YOU NEED, THAT'S EIGHT WEEKS AWAY.
I DON'T, SURELY YOU DON'T HAVE TO MEET EIGHT TIMES TO FIX THIS UP
SO I, I THINK IT'D BE GREAT IF, UM, YOU KNOW, AS MANY MEMBERS OF THE BAND COULD GET BACK TOGETHER.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, UM, TAMMY AND I THINK NELSON, YOU IN INDICATED SOME INTEREST.
SO I MEAN, BETWEEN COMMISSIONER PRICE, COMMISSIONER CARVALHO, TAMMY, PEDRO, THAT'S FIVE RIGHT THERE.
PEDRO, UH, SORRY, STRICKLAND ON.
SCOTT WAS, SCOTT WAS ON THE GROUP AS WELL.
SO I THINK WE WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, NEED TO DETERMINE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO ROLL OFF.
AND THEN, UH, TAMMY AND NELSON ARE AVAILABLE TO, I THINK, UM, I THINK THE FINE NAMES THAT YOU MENTIONED, UH, COULD MOVE FORWARD.
UH, COMMISSIONER STRICKLAND, UH, FOR THE MOST PART DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE LAST WORKING AOB EXCEPT FOR ONE SESSION.
UM, SO I THINK THE FINE NAMES WE HAVE, AND IF, IF I HAVE TO MAKE SPACE, I CAN, I CAN DROP OFF AT SOME POINT.
OR COMMISSIONER CARVAL WHO VOLUNTEERED, HE COULD.
BUT I THINK WE CAN GO WITH THE, THE FIVE COMMISSIONERS THAT WE JUST MENTIONED.
UM, UH, WHAT, WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IS WHEN WE COME BACK THIS TIME, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, MAYBE WITH SOME UPDATED, UH, AND, AND LIKE THE SCORING THAT YOU SAID, UM, IN THE NEXT COMMISSION JUST REALLY OPENED THIS UP TO A BROADER CONVERSATION.
UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, THEY HAVE BEEN VOTED ON.
SO ESSENTIALLY NOT A WHOLE LOT TO DO THERE.
THIS IS NOW JUST AN, AN, AN, AN ENGAGEMENT IN OKAY, YOU KNOW, WE MADE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAVE A RESPONSE FROM STAFF AS WELL, UH,
[02:40:01]
WITH THE UPDATED, UM, RECOMMENDATION, YOU KNOW, I GUESS RUBRIC.SO IT'S JUST A CONVERSATION AT THIS POINT ON, ON HOW WE COLLECTIVELY WANT TO MOVE FORWARD, RIGHT.
SO IT WOULD BE GOOD TO JUST HAVE A, A CONVERSATION BACK AT THE COMMISSION NEXT ROUND AND, AND, UH, AND I THINK THAT THAT SHOULD SET THE PATH FORWARD FOR ALL OF US.
SO WE'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT UPDATE.
AND, UH, YEAH, SO EVERY COMMISSIONER YOU'RE TASKED WITH GIVING YOUR, IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY ON THE WORKING GROUP, THEN GIVING, GIVING YOUR SUGGESTIONS TO THE WORKING GROUP.
[11. Approve Music Commission Budget recommendations to Council for FY26.]
ITEM IS WE HAVE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS DUE, AND THERE ARE TWO DUE AT THE END OF THIS MONTH.SO, UM, THE CHAIR AND I MET TO DISCUSS REALLY THE BEST PATH FORWARD.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALWAYS A LITTLE BIT TRICKY, I THINK BUDGET BECAUSE WE, WE COULD RECOMMEND ALL, YOU KNOW, WE COULD DREAM BIG AND RECOMMEND ALL KINDS OF THINGS, BUT I MEAN, THE REALITY IS THAT THE CITY HAS A LOT OF THINGS THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR.
AND, UM, SO SOMETIMES WE'VE APPROACHED IT IN DIFFERENT WAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A LOT OF FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WAS OUT THERE.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO SUGGEST, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT ARPA MONEY FUND, UH, CERTAIN INITIATIVES.
UM, WE HAVE HOT, WE HAVE THE GENERAL FUND, SOMETIMES WE, WITH RALLY AUSTIN, THEY TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE FUNDING THEY HAD RECEIVED.
THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE HAD SUPPORTED IN OUR BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES HAVE TACKED ON TO, UM, THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY HAPPENING IN THE CITY, SO WE CAN, YOU KNOW, IF WE WANNA LEND OUR SUPPORT.
AND SO WHAT, UM, WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE US, AS WE'VE MENTIONED, UH, IS THIS, THIS VERY EXCITING DEVELOPMENT THAT WE NOW HAVE AN OFFICE OF ARTS CULTURE, MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT.
SO WHAT WE DECIDED, UH, VOLLEY AND I WAS RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THINK ABOUT SPECIFIC BUDGET AMOUNTS OR DOLLAR AMOUNTS FOR EACH OF THESE ITEMS, THESE ARE SOME ITEMS THAT, YOU KNOW, WOULD, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD HAVE A FISCAL IMPACT, UH, OR, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD REQUIRE FUNDING, BUT IT'S A GENERALLY TO JUST HELP PROVIDE SOME VISION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OR, OR, YOU KNOW, THIS NEW OFFICE.
UH, SO I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THESE QUICKLY.
UM, AND IF, UH, THEN PLEASE THE COMMISSIONERS, LET ME KNOW WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
SO FUND, UM, ALL ACME STAFF SALARIES FROM THE GENERAL FUND, NOT FROM THE HOTEL OCCUPANCY TA TAXES AS IS CURRENTLY THE CASE WITH A FEW POSITIONS.
AND THE REASONING FOR THAT, WE'D REALLY LIKE TO RESERVE HOT FOR THE GRANT PROGRAMS AND OTHER, UM, OPPORTUNITIES LIKE PAID MUSICIAN PROGRAMS, UH, SUPPORT FOR EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT CAN BE A DIRECT, UM, INVESTMENT, UH, BACK INTO THE ECONOMY.
AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE DO FEEL THAT THE CITY SHOULD, SHOULD FUND ITS ITS EMPLOYEES FROM, FROM THE GENERAL FUND, UH, JUST LIKE OTHER EMPLOYEES IN THE CITY, UM, ESTABLISH A NIGHTTIME MUSIC OFFICE.
UH, THIS COULD BE FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME TO SUPPORT AND ENGAGE WITH THE LOCAL NIGHTLIFE AND LIVE MUSIC INDUSTRY.
SO SOME OTHER CITIES HAVE WHAT THEY CALL NIGHTTIME MAYORS OR NIGHTMARES, NOT
BUT THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY I, WE, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
WE'D LOVE TO SEE A POSITION LIKE THIS WHERE THERE'S SOMEONE THAT, FROM THE CITY, UM, THAT, THAT SUPPORTS THE WORK ALREADY BEING DONE.
AND THE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION, YOU KNOW, THESE FOLKS WORK ALL DAY.
THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE TIME TO, UH, AND AND I DO SEE, YOU KNOW, ERIC AND, AND GREG AND EVERYONE OUT AT EVENTS OFTEN, BUT, BUT TO DO THIS IN A MORE FORMAL, UM, METHODICAL WAY, UM, SO THAT THEY'RE ENGAGING AND REALLY SEEING, YOU KNOW, WHAT SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE FOR THESE VENUES.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE EXAMPLE OF, I THINK A LOT OF TIMES PEOPLE SAY ALL KINDS OF TERRIBLE THINGS ABOUT SIXTH STREET AND OH, AND HOW IS THAT AFFECTING YOU, RED RIVER? WELL, I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF COOL THINGS THAT GO ON DOWNTOWN
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE A, A CITY, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY INVESTED FROM THE CITY AND THE MUSIC COMMUNITY TO REALLY SEE, WELL, WHAT IS THAT LIKE, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES? UM, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY IS IT BENEFICIAL OR NOT BENEFICIAL FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, TO OPEN SIXTH STREET UP FOR CAR? YOU KNOW, AND I, YOU CAN, UM, I DO THINK THAT THE, YOU KNOW, OUR CURRENT STAFF, THEY DO A LOT OF WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY, BUT HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE KIND OF LITERAL BOOTS ON THE GROUND ALONG WITH THE, THE MUSIC WORKERS AND VENUES, I THINK WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS
[02:45:01]
ASSET.UM, EXTEND THE REACH OF EFFORTS TO PUBLICIZE GRANTS AND CITY PERFORMANCES OPPORTUNITIES BY INCORPORATING, UM, COMMUNITY RADIO AND HYPERLOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLICATIONS INTO THE MARKETING MIX.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, USING SOME OF THOSE, UM, MARKETING EFFORTS THAT WE USE TO PUBLICIZE LIVE MUSIC FUND AND PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, LOCAL RADIO SHOWS, UM, SMALLER PUBLICATIONS, UH, LIKE EAST MAGAZINE, A LOT OF NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE THEIR OWN PUBLICATIONS, AND SO ADVERTISING THERE AS WELL, SO THAT, THAT IT REALLY DEEPENS THE REACH INTO THE COMMUNITIES AND, AND MAKES SURE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF THE GRANTS, BUT I THINK THAT THAT EFFORT OF OUTREACH SAYS, YOU KNOW, THESE GRANTS ARE FOR YOU.
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE SEEING THAT IN YOUR OWN, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLICATION, I THINK THAT THAT SENDS A REALLY GOOD MESSAGE FROM THE CITY.
UM, NOW RALEIGH AUSTIN DISCUSSED THIS A LOT, UH, ALREADY, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT, IT BEARS REPEATING INVESTMENT IN CITY OWNED OR SUBSIDIZED REHEARSAL, AND PER, SO SPECIFICALLY REHEARSAL AND PERFORMANCE SPACE, THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO ARTISTS AT A LOW COST.
UM, SO I DON'T, I DON'T ACTUALLY, SO RILEY AUSTIN TALKED A LOT ABOUT INVESTMENT IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND, AND CREATIVE SPACES, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF, UM, THESE TYPES OF LIKE REHEARSAL SPACES, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR ACME TO ALSO KIND OF FOCUS ON HOW THAT COULD BE POSSIBLE.
'CAUSE THERE'S SUCH A NEED FOR THOSE LOW, LOW COST SPACES.
UM, YOU KNOW, MUSICIANS AND ALSO DANCERS AND OTHER ARTISTS PROVIDE CITY SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM FESTIVALS THAT PRESENT A WIDE RANGE OF BOSTON'S DIVERSE MUSIC GENRES, UM, VIA FUNDING, UH, FEE WAIVERS AND PERMITTING ASSISTANCE.
SO THIS ACTUALLY GOES BACK TO ANOTHER ITEM IN OUR AGENDA WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT POSSIBLY STREAMLINING THE PERMITTING SYSTEM, UM, AND FINDING, UM, A SYSTEMATIC WAY TO, TO, UM, LOWER THE COST OF PERMITS.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW, SOMETIMES PEOPLE CAN APPLY THROUGH THEIR COUNCIL OFFICE, THERE'S LIKE A REALLY PIECEMEAL SYSTEM FOR SOMETIMES GETTING FEES WAIVED.
SUNDAY SESSIONS WAS HERE, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS WHAT THEY WERE SEEKING.
SO THAT WAS A HELPFUL CATALYST, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL FOR STAFF AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW, LIKE, HERE IS A UNIFORM SYSTEM FOR THIS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THESE, THESE FUNDS DO PAY FOR THINGS LIKE SAFETY AND, YOU KNOW, PARK MAINTENANCE AND SO ON.
BUT, UM, I WOULD HOPE THAT AN EASIER SYSTEM WOULD ENCOURAGE, YOU KNOW, GREATER, GREATER USE OF OUR PARKS FOR THESE TYPES OF EVENTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL KIND OF HELP PAY INTO THE SYSTEM.
UM, AND I DID, AGAIN, I HAD A LONG CONVERSATION WITH BRIAN BLOCK ABOUT THAT TODAY AND, AND HE WAS SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
SO IT'S JUST, IT'S A, I'M NOT SAYING IT'S EASY TO FIGURE OUT, BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE THERE'S, UM, POTENTIAL THERE.
UM, CONTINUE TO EXPAND, UH, THE CITY'S LIVE MUSIC EVENTS PROGRAM TO GIVE ARTISTS MORE PAID OPPORTUNITIES.
WE DO HAVE A COOL PROGRAM IN THE MUSIC, UH, AND ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION.
UM, THEY ALSO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, EVENTS AT SOUTH SHOWCASES AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST.
THERE'S A PAID PERFORMANCE, UH, PROGRAM THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO.
SO WE'VE FULLY SUPPORT THAT, UM, AND WOULD REALLY WOULD LOVE FOR IN, YOU KNOW, IN THE NEW OFFICE TO THINK ABOUT HOW THAT CAN BECOME EVEN MORE ROBUST, INVEST IN PROMOTIONAL AND WAY FINDING SIGNAGE IN THE URBAN CORE TO PROMOTE LIVE MUSIC.
UM, SO THIS IS BASICALLY A MARKETING PIECE, YOU KNOW, USING OUTDOOR ADVERTISING TO, YOU KNOW, REITERATE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR CITY OF AUSTIN LAKE LIVE MUSIC IS A CORE PART OF OUR BRAND.
IT IS A KEY PART OF THE CULTURAL LIFE HERE.
AND WE HAVE SO MANY NEW RESIDENTS THAT I THINK IT, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T JUST REST ON THE LAURELS OF A, YOU KNOW, A TAGLINE THAT WAS DEVELOPED, YOU KNOW, A DECADE OR TWO AGO THAT, UM, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO EDUCATE AUDIENCES THAT, YOU KNOW, PART OF LOVING LIFE IN AUSTIN IS SUPPORTING LIVE MUSIC.
UM, SO THAT CAN LOOK LIKE, THAT COULD RANGE FROM EVERYTHING FROM BILLBOARDS TO BUS ROUTE RAPS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE, AGAIN, JUST
[02:50:01]
SIGNAGE IN A DISTRICT.AND I THINK THERE'S SOME OF THAT ALREADY IN THE RED RIVER CULTURAL DISTRICT.
SO THAT SERVES AS A GREAT EXAMPLE.
UM, FINDING RESOURCES AND PROGRAMMING, UH, WHICH HELPS SMALL VENUES AND INDEPENDENT PROMOTERS NAVIGATE CITY POLICIES.
SO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE CITY IS, IT'S REALLY BYZANTINE SOMETIMES.
SO THIS IS BROAD, BUT I THINK, UM, ESSENTIALLY IF THERE WAS A, AN EASIER WAY FOR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE SAY TO APPLY FOR AN ACE PERMIT OR, UM, UNDERSTAND HOW THE NOISE ORDINANCE WORKS, UM, HOPEFULLY SOME OF THIS MIGHT GET ADDRESSED WITH THE CITY'S NEW WEBSITE, BUT THAT'S GONNA BE A LONG PROCESS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I, I DEFINITELY HOPE THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE ENGAGING WITH ALL OF THE DIVISIONS, DEPARTMENTS, OFFICES AT THE CITY.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ENGAGEMENT POINT FOR ACME TO THINK ABOUT HOW, HOW, HOW DOES OUR COMMUNITY UTILIZE THE PROGRAMS HERE AND SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND AND NOT, NOT FEEL FRUSTRATED BY WHAT THEY LATER FIND THEY CAN'T DO, OR MAYBE FIND OUT THERE'S SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD HAVE DONE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN BENEFICIAL TO THEM.
UM, AND, UH, LASTLY, INVEST IN PUBLIC SAFETY PROGRAMS FOR LIVE MUSIC SPACES WITHOUT PUTTING FINANCIAL STRAIN ON VENUES.
SO THIS IS, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS A BROAD PICTURE AND IT'S HONESTLY, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS THERE, THESE ARE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, I THINK THIS IS KIND OF, UM, A VISION PLAN TO HELP SET THE TONE, UM, FOR THE NEEDS OF THE MUSIC COMMUNITY AS THE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THIS NEW DEPARTMENT THAT IS REALLY, REALLY A VISIONARY ENDEAVOR.
I REALLY, AGAIN, DIRECTOR, MEANS I APPRECIATE YOU BEING HERE.
UM, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE IN THE ROOM AS WE'RE EXPLAINING THIS.
SO, UM, ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS? AND AGAIN, THIS IS JUST A DOCUMENT THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE SHARE WITH COUNCIL AND WE SHARE WITH STAFF AND THE DEPARTMENTS AND TO HELP AS THEY PLAN BUDGET PRIORITIES GOING FORWARD.
NAALI, YOU HAVE A SOMETHING TO ADD? UH, YEAH, YEAH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING.
UM, UH, THIS RE UH, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON A QUICK FEW THINGS, LIKE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MARKETING, UM, FOR, FOR THE LIVE MUSIC GRANTS, THE FUNDS, IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES, REALLY, I MEAN, ONE OF THE WAYS EQUITY, WHICH IS, IS, IS SUCH A CORE PRINCIPLE FOR US, UH, THAT CAN BE BUILT, IS IN LETTING ACTUALLY MORE FOLKS KNOW ABOUT THESE GRANTS AND THE HEALTH THAT IS AVAILABLE ALREADY FROM, UM, THE CITY IN, IN, IN FILLING THESE GRANT APPLICATIONS, ET CETERA.
RIGHT? AND ONE WAY THAT CAN BE ACHIEVED IS JUST BROADENING THE MARKETING INTO ALL THIS, THE DIVERSE DIASPORA AND COMMUNITIES THAT ARE IN AUSTIN AND PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, GOING TO THE COMMUNITY RADIOS, THE COMMUNITY, UH, PUBLICATIONS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S, UH, THE AUSTIN, SOUTH ASIAN OR, OR THE EAST SIDE MAGAZINE OR, OR SOMETHING ELSE.
UH, SO KIND OF GOING WITH, WITH THE MAINSTREAM PUBLICATIONS AND RADIO, BUT ALSO REALLY BRANCHING OUT MORE DEEPER INTO, INTO THE DIA DIVERSE DIASPORA.
AND I THINK THAT IS ALSO VERY KEY WAY OF CREATING, UH, EQUITY, UH, AROUND, AROUND THESE, THESE FUNDS.
UM, WE, WE KIND OF LIKE THE IDEA OF, UH, THE NIGHT OFFICE, OR IT IS REALLY MAYBE JUST HAVING A FULL-TIME OR A PART-TIME ROLE AROUND THAT.
OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, UM, THE STAFF RIGHT NOW, I MEAN, IF, IF I THINK OF ERICA OR GREG OR ANYBODY, I MEAN, THEY, THEY ARE VERY DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE INDUSTRY.
UH, BUT PERHAPS THE IDEA OF HAVING A, A FORMAL ROLE, UH, WITHIN THE STRUCTURE WHO'S, WHO'S KIND OF REALLY THE RESPONSE AND RESPONSIBILITIES REVOLVE AROUND, UH, HAVING, UH, THAT ENGAGEMENT WITH THE NIGHTLIFE AND THE LIVE MUSIC SCENE, UH, TO SEE WHAT'S AN ENTERTAINMENT SCENE, TO SEE WHAT'S WORKING WELL, UH, WHAT, WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES, JUST KIND OF AN EAR TO THE GROUND, UH, KIND OF A ROLE, UM, SAFETY, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD, ON A BROADER SCALE, JUST LOVE TO SEE MORE, UH, INVESTMENT AROUND SAFETY, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THAT ASPECT AROUND, YOU KNOW, VENUES, ET CETERA.
BECAUSE SO MANY TIMES WE HEAR, UH, EVEN AROUND SIXTH STREET WHERE, UH, THERE IS, THERE IS, UH, UH, THERE'S AN EFFORT TO BRING IN MORE BUSINESSES, UH, THERE, AND, AND SAFETY SEEMS TO BE A BIG CONCERN THAT WE'VE REPEATEDLY HEARD, UH, FROM THE COMMUNITY AROUND, UH, EVEN BUSINESSES BEING HESITANT TO GO.
[02:55:01]
AT A, A FUTURE FORWARD WAY AND HOW THESE SPACES WOULD EVOLVE, UM, WHETHER IT'S, IT'S IT'S, YOU KNOW, A THRIVING LIVE MUSIC VENUES, MIXED USE SPACES, UM, SAFETY IS A VERY HUGE CONCERN.AND, AND WE WOULD REALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK IT'S BEEN SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE, WE JUST BROADLY LOVE TO SEE THE CITY INVEST MORE AND NOT HAVE THAT BURDEN BE ON, ON, ON VENUES AND OTHER BUSINESSES.
UM, AND SO I THINK THOSE ARE SOME OF THE CORE THINGS.
AND, UH, UM, AGAIN, I'M BIG ON THE IDEA OF CREATING EQUITY THROUGH JUST BROADER, UH, BROADER, UM, KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIALIZING OF, OF THE AVAILABILITY OF THESE GRANTS AND THE HELP AROUND IT.
UH, PEDRO, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT? I'LL MAKE IT QUICK, I SWEAR.
UM, ONE OF THE COOLEST EVENTS THAT I KNOW HAPPENS IN THIS CITY IS FREE WEEK BY RESOUND AND, AND GRAHAM AND THOSE DUDES WHO DO SUCH AN AWESOME JOB, THEY'VE REALLY CREATED THIS SCENE THAT I'M A BIG PART OF NOW, AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S A SMALL SCENE WITHOUT THE GREATER SCENE OF LIKE AUSTIN MUSIC COMMUNITY.
UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
AND, AND FREE WEEK SEEMS TO BE GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER, AND IT'S NOT EVEN HALF A WEEK NOW.
LAST YEAR WAS THE, THE LAST FREE WEEK.
AND I USUALLY TRY TO CHAMPION FROM, BECAUSE I, I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO HAVE COOL CULTURAL EVENTS THAT ARE FREE TO THE PUBLIC AND JUST AVAILABLE TO OUR CITIZENS AND OUR COMMUNITY AND THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO ENJOY IT AND DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE DISPOSABLE INCOME BECAUSE AUSTIN'S SO EXPENSIVE TO LIVE IN AS IS.
UM, I ALWAYS THOUGHT A REALLY COOL THING THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN COULD DO IF WE'RE, UM, OFFERING BUDGET SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE IF THERE'S, UM, UM, FUNDS TO PAY FOR CITY BUSES OR CAP METRO THAT ARE GOING TO RED RIVER DURING FREE WEEK, THAT, THAT THEY'RE FREE TO THE PUBLIC.
SO YOU CAN GO TO THESE SHOWS AND YOU CAN GET THERE FOR FREE.
YOU CAN SAFELY GET THERE, YOU KNOW, THE, THESE GUYS ARE MAKING MONEY ON AT THE BAR.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MONEY AND MOST OF THESE TIMES THEY'RE PAYING FOR BANS OUT OF POCKET AND THEY'RE PAYING THEM THE CITY WAGES BECAUSE EVERY, WE ALL WANT TO BE FAIR TO, TO OUR COMMUNITY AND NOT EXPLOIT OURSELVES.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL PART OF IT.
SO IF THERE IS A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION THAT I THINK WOULD BE SUPER COOL WOULD BE TO MAKE BUSES THAT ARE GOING TO THAT AREA WHERE FREE WEEK IS PREDOMINANTLY AT, WHICH IS LIKE RED RIVER, UH, SEVEN SIXTH STREET AREA FREE WHILE IT'S HAPPENING.
IT COULD DRIVE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF THINK OF TRAFFIC TO THESE VENUES AND REALLY BOOST THE, THE MUSIC COMMUNITY IT THE WAY IT DESERVES.
SO WE CAN DEFINITELY ADD THAT AS A BULLET, UM, TO THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
'CAUSE THIS IS A DRAFT SO THAT, SO IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING THAT I SAID BEFORE, I'VE PUT INVEST IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FOR, UH, THE FREE WEEK FESTIVAL.
AND WITH THAT, UM, WOULD ANYBODY LIKE, SO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THESE AND WE'RE REALLY, UH, WE'RE RUNNING OVER TIME.
SO WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, UH, TO, UM, APPROVE THESE BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS? OKAY.
UH, LOOKS LIKE VALE'S GOT HER HAND UP.
AND THEN COULD I GET A SECOND? COMMISSIONER BLEVINS? YEAH, COMMISSIONER BLEVINS IS SECOND.
THE MOTION PASSES WITH SIX VOTES AND THE SIX PEOPLE WE HAVE HERE, SO GREAT.
SO I'LL, UM, I'LL AMEND THE DRAFT DOCUMENT, SHELBY, AND I'LL SEND IT TO YOU TOMORROW.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
IS, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, SO SOUNDS LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME STANDING ITEMS, UM, WHICH IS LIVE MUSIC FUND COLLECTION AND LIVE MUSIC FUND UPDATE.UH, SOUNDS LIKE WE MIGHT HAVE A LIVE MUSIC WORKING GROUP.
LIVE MUSIC FUND, WORKING GROUP UPDATE.
UM, WE HAD A SUGGESTION FOR, OH MY GOSH, Y'ALL, I'M SORRY.
IT FEELS LIKE THIS MEETING WAS LIKE 10 YEARS LONG.
UH, SO WE HAD A SPEAKER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING THAT WAS MATT FROM MAKE, UH, MAKE MUSIC ALLIANCE.
SO, UH, SO PRESENTATION FOR MAKE MUSIC ALLIANCE, UM, IN OUR, FOR OUR APRIL MEETING.
ANYTHING ELSE ELSE THAT WE CAN THINK OF? WE CAN ALWAYS ADD ITEMS, UH, BY EMAIL, UH, WITH THIS, YOU KNOW, WE JUST, YOU JUST NEED SOMEBODY TO SECOND YOUR
[03:00:01]
VOTE.SO I THINK, I THINK, UH, IF I MAY YEAH, GO AHEAD.
YEAH, I THINK, I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER ADA HAD SUGGESTED SOME ITEM FOR, UM, APRIL.
IT WAS PROBABLY A, A PRESENTATION FROM, UH, THE, THE FESTIVAL, THE SONGWRITING FESTIVAL THAT'S HAPPENING IN LOCKHART.
UH, YOU CAN ADD THAT LATER TOO, BUT I THINK YEAH, WE CAN, WE CAN THROW THAT IN ON THAT, THAT ON THE AGENDA.
I, I WANNA TALK TO LAUREN AND SEE WHAT HER SCHEDULE IS LIKE BEFORE WE PUT HER BACK ON AND COMMIT HER.
BUT I HAVE OFFICER ELECTION, UH, IN APRIL.
SHELBY'S GIVING ME A THUMBS UP.
UH, DO YOU HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THESE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? PEDRO HAS COMMISSIONER FA SECOND HAS MOTIONED TO HAVE A SECOND COMMISSIONER PRICE.
AND, UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADJOURN? I HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER AGUILAR AND I THINK THAT WAS A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER PRICE.